Empire adrift

 
From the Publishers
In 1807 […] the Portuguese prince regent Dom Joao made an extraordinary decision […] to transplant his entire court and government to Portugal's largest colony, Brazil. With French troops closing in on Lisbon, 10,000 aristocrats, ministers, priests and servants were transported there by the Portuguese fleet. […] Thus began a […] 13-year period of imperial rule from the tropics.
 
Patrick Wilcken grew up in Sydney and studied at Goldsmiths College and the Institute of Latin American Studies in London. He has contributed Brazil-related reviews and features to the Times Literary Supplement and the Guardian. He has spent lengthy periods in Rio de Janeiro and now lives in Battersea, London.