As for Prince John, he hesitated no longer between Napoleon and England; it was a question, rather, of choosing between Portugal and Brazil. If he set out for America, the kingdom would be gobbled up by the voracious Franco-Spanish allies. If he did not do so, Brazil would be borne off as a prize by the British, since what better opportunity could England have for possessing itself of the Azores, Madeira, all the colonies? He recalled the words that Lord Hankesbury had addressed to the French diplomat who was threatening him with the conquest of Lisbon and Oporto in case the English did not abandon Malta and be content with the Island of Ceylon: "If Napoleon invades Portugal, England will invade Portugal's overseas colonies. It will take the Azores and Brazil, two pawns which will be worth much more to it than continental Portugal will be to France."

Costa, Sergio Corrêa da. Every Inch a King; a biography of Dom Pedro I, first emperor of Brazil. Translated from the Portuguese by Samuel Putnam. London: Roberto Hale & Company, 1972. 230 p.