In 1822 Minas became a province of the empire created by Dom Pedro I., though a revolutionary outbreak had occurred in Ouro Preto the year before.
In 1720 Villa Rica became the capital of the newly created captaincy of Minas Geraes, and in 1823 the capital of the province of the same name under the empire of Dom Pedro I.
Petropolis was founded in 1845 by Julius Frederick Kdler under the auspices of the emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro II., on lands purchased by his father, Dom Pedro I., in 1822.
Secondary and higher education are under both federal and state control, the former being represented by lyceums in the state capitals, and by such institutions as the Gymnasio Nacional (formerly Collegio Dom Pedro II.) in Rio de Janeiro.
The two English authorities, Robert Southey's History of Brazil, covering the colonial period, and John Armitage's History of Brazil, covering the period between the arrival of the Braganza family (1808) and the abdication of Dom Pedro I.
