These illustrated narratives celebrating the monarch’s liberality are abundantly explored by Lisboa in his second historical memoir, published in 1818 to commemorate the coronation of Dom João VI in 1815. In the context of local discontent, particularly the Pernambucan Revolution of 1817, the memoir served as an indirect political action. The book is structured into 12 thematic sections, each highlighting a major benefit attributed to the king: I. Favourable Legislation ; II. Prohibition of Revolutionary France ; III. Portugal’s Defensive System ; IV. The Court’s Expedition to Brazil ; V. Provisional Suspension of the Colonial System ; VI. Establishment of the Court in Rio de Janeiro ; VII. Encouragement of National Valour ; VIII. Establishment of the Bank of Brazil ; IX. Definitive Freedom of Trade and Industry ; X. Declaration of the United Kingdom ; XI. Promotion of the Sciences and Arts ; XII. Diplomatic Freedom in Foreign Affairs .

The memoir opens with a particularly traditional eulogy of the prince’s virtues, but its true purpose was to justify the policies undertaken by the monarch since his arrival in Brazil. Citing a lengthy excerpt from Robertson’s History of America , in which the British author highlights Portugal’s pioneering role and centrality in the Age of Discoveries despite being “one of the smallest and least powerful kingdoms of Europe” (p. 5), Lisboa implies that Dom João was completing the work of great figures from the Age of Discoveries, such as Prince Henry the Navigator and King Manuel I. In doing so, he reinforced a narrative of restoring the empire through a mission that was both providential and rational. The developments in Brazil were portrayed as the culmination of the history of the Great Navigations, a decisive step for European civilisation. According to Lisboa, the momentum of the Discoveries had been distorted by the "colonial system," a policy of secrecy and monopolies. Thus, the Portuguese presence in Brazil had been undermined by this "ancient colonial system," the very same system that Dom João VI began dismantling in 1808, effectively restoring the original principles of the Discoveries.

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