The first militarized police in
Portugal (when Brazil was still a
colony) was the
Royal Police Guard of Lisbon (), established in 1801; which was followed by the model of the
National Gendarmerie () of France, created in 1791. When the Portuguese
Royal Family was
transferred to Brazil, the Royal Police Guard of Lisbon remained in Portugal, and another equivalent was created in
Rio de Janeiro, under the name of
Military Division of the Royal Guard Police of Rio de Janeiro, in 1809. With the
abdication of
Emperor Pedro I in 1831, the
Regency held reformulations on the
Brazilian Armed Forces. The Royal Guard Police of Rio de Janeiro was abolished, and replaced by the
Municipal Guard Corps of Volunteers; a type of security force similar to the French
National Guard. The same law allowed each province to establish its own
Guard of Volunteers. In 1834 Pedro I died in Portugal and this reduced the fear in Brazil of a reunification of the kingdoms. The Guard of Volunteers were then transformed into
Province Police Corps, with professional troops. The Police Corps were created with the same structure as the Army, and to serve as reserve troops when necessary. With the
fall of the Empire, the
First Brazilian Republic adopted a constitution based on the United States' one, where the federal states have a large degree of autonomy. The Police Corps began to be administered by the states and became
small state armies, with
infantry,
cavalry,
artillery, and later, even air forces. This danger to national security remained until the end of World War II, with the
deposition of the dictatorial government of
Getúlio Vargas. After World War II, the Military Police became a more "traditional" police force, similar to a
gendarmerie, subject to the states. ==Structure==