[2]: 321 For thirteen years, Rio de Janeiro functioned as the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves in what some historians call a metropolitan reversal (i.e., a colony exercising governance over the entirety of an empire).

Commodore Graham Moore continued escorting the Portuguese royal family to Brazil with the British ships Marlborough, London, Bedford, and Monarch.

[2]: 117 On 1 April 1808, in attempts to modernize the economy and diversify the production of the colony, John allowed for the establishment of manufacturing industries through the signing of the Alvará de Liberdade para as Indústrias.

[7] During the time that the court was located in Brazil, the Portuguese royal family collectively granted more titles of nobility than it had in its past 300 years of existence in Portugal.

Between 1811 and 1821, a vast majority of noble titles were granted to those who had travelled with the court in 1807 or had fought the French in Portugal and somehow had made their way to Brazil.

[7] As an additional way to thank Great Britain for their efforts to protect the Portuguese Empire and their expanding economic relationship with the colony, titles of nobility were also given to British individuals.

Furthermore, the titles of nobility served as a means to consolidate the rule of the Portuguese court and confirm the power status of the monarchy in the colony.

[7] These were surreptitious ways to keep Brazilians content with the monarchy and appease the population without jeopardizing Portuguese high society, both in Brazil and in Portugal.

Out of the 26 titles of nobility granted in 1818, only three Brazilian men were graced: José Egídio Álvares de Almeida, Pedro Dias Paes Leme, and Paulo Fernandes Carneiro Viana.

By granting titles to Portuguese individuals and those with close ties with Portugal, the court guaranteed the financial support to sustain themselves halfway across the Atlantic.

[6] In addition, the penal system was used to take control of lower classes by using minor infractions considered public disorder; for example, "disrespecting curfew, playing games of luck, drinking alcohol and begging"[9] could be punishable with prison.

Furthermore, while attempts to "civilize" the city were made, it also meant that the biggest difference between the old court and the one in Brazil was that half of it now consisted of enslaved peoples.

While the court and nobility wanted to portray itself as open to hearing the critiques and desires of the Brazilian population, only a select few could attend audiences with King John.

He implemented the ceremony of beija-mão, a daily ritual where subjects got the chance to go to the royal residence, kiss the king's hand, and express their grievances.

This practice to supposedly stay in touch with common people allowed for the social elites to voice their agendas, including white men, the nobility, and the clergy[citation needed].

[citation needed] Beyond having to go through infrastructural expansion to accommodate for the arrival of 15,000 people, Rio continued to be modified and upgraded in the early stages of the transferring of the court.

Needing to create a unified way to control the state and effectively manage territory, the government put in efforts to connect city centers through road development.

As a consequence, remaking Rio de Janeiro into the court meant reconciling the larger quest to metropolitanise the city with slavery and with the African and African-Brazilian residents who made up the majority of its population.”[10] Among the important measures taken by John VI (in attempts to Europeanize the country) were creating incentives for commerce and industry, allowing newspapers and books to be printed, even though the Imprensa Régia, Brazil's first printing press was highly regulated by the government, establishing two medical schools, establishing military academies, and creating the first Bank of Brazil (Banco do Brasil).

Less beneficial were the crown's policies continuing the Atlantic slave trade, attacks on indigenous peoples, and land grants to court favorites.

Prince Pedro, influenced by the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Senate (Senado da Câmara), refused to return to Portugal during the Dia do Fico (9 January 1822).

Brazilian politics were initiated and affected, society and demographics were altered, the economy developed, and the city of Rio de Janeiro physically changed.

The stability and prosperity of the Brazilian state, resulting from the royal court's presence, allowed for it to declare independence from Portugal without the violence and destabilization characteristic of similar movements in neighboring countries.

The relatively smooth transition into independence, along with the economic and cultural strides made since the royal court's first arrival, resulted in a thriving time for the young nation.

Throughout the royal court's stay in Rio de Janeiro and during the early part of its independence, Brazil saw a huge influx of immigrants and imported slaves.

[12] The retention of immigrants demonstrated the newfound economic opportunities of the newly independent Brazil, while waves of anti-Portuguese sentiment among the masses of Rio de Janeiro revealed the nation's lingering resentment towards its former rulers.