of the people. On 15 February 1822 the Portuguese troops left Rio de Janeiro, and their departure represented the dissolution of the ties between Brazil and the metropolis. Dom Pedro was triumphantly received in Minas Gerais. Regency When her husband traveled to São Paulo in August 1822 to pacify politics (which culminated in the proclamation of Brazil's Independence in September), Maria Leopoldina was appointed as his official representative, that is, as Regent in his absence. Her status was confirmed with a document of investiture dated 13 August 1822 in which Dom Pedro appointing her head of the Council of State and Acting Princess-Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil, giving her complete authority to take any necessary political decisions during his absence. Great was her influence in the process of independence. The Brazilians were already aware that Portugal intended to call Dom Pedro back, relegating Brazil again to the status of a simple colony rather than a kingdom united to that of Portugal. There were fears that a civil war would separate the Province of São Paulo from the rest of Brazil. The Princess-Regent received a new decree with demands from Lisbon arrived in Rio de Janeiro and, without time to wait for Dom Pedro's return, Maria Leopoldina, advised by José Bonifácio de Andrada, and using her attributes as interim head of government, met in the morning of 2 September 1822 with the Council of State and signed the Decree of Independence, declaring Brazil separate from Portugal. Maria Leopoldina send Dom Pedro a letter, along with another letter from José Bonifácio, as well as comments from Portugal criticizing the actions of her husband and King John VI. In her letter to her husband, the Princess-Regent suggests her husband to proclaim the Independence of Brazil, with the warning: "The fruit is ripe, pick it up, otherwise it will rot" (O pomo está maduro, colha-o já, senão apodrece). Dom Pedro declared the Independence of Brazil upon receiving the letter of his wife on 7 September 1822 at São Paulo. Maria Leopoldina had also sent papers received from Lisbon, and comments from Antônio Carlos Ribeiro de Andrada, deputy to the courts, for which the Prince-Regent learned of criticism of him in the metropolis. The position of John VI and all his ministry, dominated by the courts, was difficult. While awaiting the return of her husband, Maria Leopoldina, the interim ruler of an already independent