As early as the 16th century, Portugal invaded Brazil, and through bloody conquest, Brazil became a Portuguese colony. Portugal established a governor's district in Brazil, ruled the area, and developed local sugar cane production and sold cane sugar to Europe. Pernambuco has become one of Brazil's important sugarcane producing areas.
In order to chase huge profits, the Portuguese government tried hard to plunder the wealth of the colony and restrict the power of the local ruling class. Therefore, the local plantation owners also strongly opposed the suzerainty policy. Local businessmen, handicraftsmen, and urban civilians were also dissatisfied with the colonial rule due to excessive taxes and excessive collection by colonial tax officials.
When Portuguese merchants in Recife obtained new privileges in October 1710, dissatisfied people rose up against the Portuguese royal authorities. The governor was unable to suppress the riot and fled to Bahia by boat. The rioters abolished local municipal institutions and replaced them with new municipal institutions. The most determined rioter, Bernardo Vieira de Mello, advocated the declaration of Pernambuco’s autonomy and the establishment of a Venetian, independent and noble republic. In order to separate from the Portuguese suzerainty. However, the "moderates" headed by the archbishop prevailed in the riot.
After the Pernambuco incident, it caused a shock in Lisbon. The new governor and armed forces dispatched to Pernambuco arrived in Recife on October 6, 1711 and easily suppressed the anti-sovereign riot. The Portuguese authorities did not want to intensify the conflict, so they ordered the governor to announce an amnesty to the rioters, punishing only the archbishop and Melo, sentenced the archbishop to exile, and imprisoned Melo.
The characteristic of this riot is that the leaders and the instigators of the riot are wealthy aristocratic upper-class figures, mainly some large plantation owners. Of course, this riot cannot fundamentally shake Portuguese rule over Brazil.