Dom Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil

He was a portuguese prince who decided that ruling Brazil was cooler than ruling Portugal, so he declared the Brazillian Independence and founded the Empire of Brazil, the only monarchy to have ever existed on the Americas.  He even married a Hapsburg princes, Maria Leopoldine von Österreich, archduchess of Austria, with whom he had a son, Pedro II, who turned out to be quite a capable prince and ruled the empire of Brazil rather successfully for 58 years. Pedro II, though born in Brazil, had 100% pure european blue blood, being a legitimate heir to two of the most important dynasties in Europe, the House of Braganza(cadet branch of the Bourbons) and the House of Hapsuburghs 

1806 - Napoleon Bonaparte declares the "continental blockage", forbidding all european countries to trade with England. Portugal, a long time standing ally of England, refuses the French Emperor. Even though in decline, the Portuguese Empire still was one of the leading producers of some important commodities, primarily gold, gemstones and sugar.

1807 - As a reprisal, Napoleon invades Portugal. The portuguese king, Dom Joao VI, flees to Brazil with the entire portuguese court. They are escorted by the english fleet to then small town of Rio de Janeiro, in southeast Brazil.

1815 - Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo. The portuguese royal family however refuses to return to Portugal, having taken a fancy to Brazil. Brazil, unlike Europe, had no plague, wars or harsh winters.

1820 - The portuguese parliament sends an ultimatum to king Dom Joao VI, threatening to remove his crown if he doesnt return to Portugal. The king obliges, leaving his son Pedro to rule Brazil in his stead.

1822 - The portuguese parliament decided to return Brazil to its former state of colony, revoking several privileges that Brazillians had enjoyed while Rio de Janeiro was the de facto capital of the empire. The Brazillians obviously didnt like that, but they were also afraid of condemning their souls to eternal damnation should they rise in revolt against their rightful king. They resolved that dilemna by convincing prince Pedro to stay, and declared him "emperor of Brazil". Pedro was a light handed monarch, and left most of the affairs of state to his competent minister, the liberal Jose Bonifacio de Andrada. Pedro's wife, the Habsuburgh princess Marie Leopoldine, is famous for saying: My husband, God help us, loves the new ideas

1825 - Dom Pedro I calls for the abolition of slavery, but is overruled by the brazilian parliament(who were, you would never guess, rich white man who owned slaves). He is famous for saying: It grieves me to see my fellow humans giving me tributes appropriate for God, I know that my blood is the same color as that of the Negroes. Brazil would become the last western country to abolish african slavery, only in 1885.

1-) Dom is the portuguese word for "Lord". Its equivalent to the spanish "Don" or de french "De"

2-)Because the spanish and the portuguese were mainly interested in commercial goods, especially gold and sugar(sugar was as valuable as gold on the early modern period). The tropical climate and mineral riches of South America were all they could hope for. Keep in mind that North America and South America received two completely different types of colonization. Imperial Brazil most closely resembled the southern U.S before the Civil War, an agricultural State producing tropical goods for exportation, ruled by a white oligarchy with european roots. Both also had little regard for african-americans in general. Brazil would only start its industrialization process on the 1930's.

Indeed. In fact, Brazil was much better off with the Empire than under the military junta that immediately succeeded it. The Emperor was a liberal and a cosmopolitan, while the military was reactionary and provincial. Many of Brazil's problem can be traced back to the fall of the empire. Dom Pedro II and his daughter, Princess Isabel, are still beloved by  Brazilians, particularly by negroes and small folk in general, their gentleness is legendary.