Brazil is ruled by appointed regents, and…

Brazil is ruled by appointed regents, and local factions have struggled to gain control of their provinces and to keep the masses in line.

Out of desperation to weaken the radical appeals for federalism, republicanism, and hostility toward the Portuguese, and to protect against calls for Pedro I's restoration, the regency in Rio de Janeiro gives considerable power to the provinces in 1834.

Brazil takes on the appearance of a federation of local pátrias (autonomous centers of regional power) with loose allegiance to the Rio de Janeiro government, whose function is to defend them from external attack and to maintain order and balance among them.

The government's ability to carry out that function is impaired, however, by the low budgets allowed the army and navy, and by the creation of a National Guard, whose officers are local notables determined to protect their private and regional interests.

The rebellions, riots, and popular movements that are to mark the next several years spring less from economic misery than from attempts to share in the prosperity resulting from North Atlantic demand for Brazil's exports.

Many of the disturbances are fleeting (and all but forgotten today).

For example, in Rio de Janeiro alone there had been five uprisings in 1831 and 1832.