King D. Pedro II 'The Pacific' and Queen D.ª Maria Sofia

[Marengo]

Pedro II, King of Portugal and the Algarves (Lisbon, 26 April 1648 - Alcantara, 9 December 1706); married 1stly in Lisbon, 2 April 1668 Queen Maria Francisca of Portugal*, born Princess of Savoy-Nemours (wife of his brother King Alfonso VI, whose marriage was annuled) (Paris, 21 June 1646 - Lisbon 27 December 1683) and married 2ndly Lisbon, 22 May 1687 Princess Maria Sofia of the Palatinate (Neuburg) (Brevath, 6 August 1666 - Lisbon, 4 August 1699)

Reign: 1683 - 1706

Regency: 1668 - 1683

Predecessor: King Alfonso VI of Portugal and the Algarves

Succeeded by: King João V of Portugal and the Algarves

Daughter of Pedro II and Maria Francisca: Princess Isabel Luisa of Portugal, Princess of Beira

Children of Pedro II and Maria Sofia: Prince João of Portugal, Prince of Brazil; King João V,Prince Francisco, Prince Antonio, Princess Teresa, Prince Manuel and Princess Francisca of Portugal

Parents King Pedro II: King João IV of Portugal, Duke of Bragança and Dona Luisa de Guzmán (Medina de Sidonia)

Parents Queen Maria Sofia: Elector Phillip Wilhelm of the Palatinate and Princess Elisabeth Amelie of Hesse-Darmstadt

Siblings King João V: Prince Teodosio, Princess Ana and Princess Juana of Portugal, Queen Catherine of England and Scotland, Prince Manuel and King Alfonso VI of Portugal

Siblings Queen Maria Sofia: Empress Eleonore Magdalena of Austria, Princess Maria Adelheid, Princess Sophie Elisabeth, Elector Johann Wilhelm, Prince Wolfgang Georg (Bisshop of Cologne), Prince Ludwig Anton (Bisshop of Worms), Elector Karl III Philip, Prince Alexander Sigismund (Prince-Bisshop of Augsburg), and Prince Franz Ludwig (Archbisshop of Trier and Mainz) of the Palatinate, Queen Maria Anna of Spain, Prince Philip Wilhelm of the Palatinate, Duchess Dorothea Sophie of Parma, Crown Princess Hedwig Elisabeth of Poland (Sobieski) and Electress Leopoldine Eleonore of Bavaria

* Note that Queen Maria Francisca is discussed in the thread of her first husband, King Alfonso VI

 

[Marengo]

Peter II (Portuguese Pedro, pronounced [ˈpedɾu]), the Pacific (Port. o Pacífico) (April 26, 1648 – December 9, 1706), Regent (1668–1683) and 23rd (or 24th according to some historians) King of Portugal and the Algarves (1683–1706).
The youngest son of João IV and being created Duke of Beja, he was appointed regent for his insane brother, Afonso VI, in 1668, shortly after Spanish recognition of Portugal's independence. Peter first locked his brother away, but came to the throne in his own right after Afonso's death in 1683. Around this time, the discovery of silver mines in Brazil enlarged Peter's treasury to the extent that he was able to dismiss the Cortes in 1697 and rule without its revenue grants for the rest of his reign.
Initially Peter supported France in the War of Spanish Succession (1702 - 1715), but on May 16, 1703, Portugal and Britain signed the famous Methuen Treaty. This trade accord granted mutual commercial privileges for Portuguese wine and English textile traders and would later give Britain huge clout in the Portuguese economy. This was followed in December 1703 by a military alliance between Portugal, Austria and Great Britain for an invasion of Spain. Portuguese and Allied forces, under the command of the Marquês das Minas, captured Madrid in 1706, during the campaign which ended in the Allied defeat at Almansa.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

 

[Marengo]

Maria Sofia of the Palatinate (August 6, 1666 - August 4, 1699) was a queen of Portugal.
She was a daughter of Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine and his wife Elisabeth Amalie von Hessen-Darmstadt, and as such from the house of Wittelsbach.
She had sixteen brothers and sisters

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

 

[JSP]

Lafões

D.Pedro II had several illegitimate children.

From one of them, D.Miguel, descends the present Dukes of Lafões

GeneAll.net - D. Pedro II, rei de Portugal

 

[Keith]

Another significant aspect of Pedro II's reign was that of accomplishing a rebirth of sorts of the Portugal's Asian empire. With the threat of the Spanish Hapsburgs greatly diminished at the beginning of his regency, he was able to focus his attention on the Asian colonies. His reforms resulted in the gradual stabilization of the Asian empire which contributed to the stablization and consolidation of Portugal, strengthening its position in regards to Spain and other European powers (see Renascent Empire? by Glenn Ames).

 

[JSP]

During D.Pedro II's reign the immense gold mines of Brazil were discovered.
People tend to relate them to D.Pedro's son, D.João V, during whose reign gold fled to Portugal in enormous quantities and provided for great luxury, but they were discovered still during D.Pedro's reign.

An interesting anedocte.
After the death of his first wife, D.Pedro was looking for a bride in Europe.
Portugal's situation was yet rather unstable as the independence was "fresh" and the country had been impoverished by the spanish occupation, so he was not exactly a very eligible party.

D.Pedro set eyes on the last Médici princess, the richissime Ana Maria, but she turned him down on acount of his poor wealth.
Little did she knew that a couple of years later the brazilian gold would be discovered.

May be it was a blessing since the princess did not have any children by her husband, and, should she have married D.Pedro, we could have witnessed the extinction of two royal families, the Braganças and the Médicis.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Armor with buff coat which belonged to King Pedro II of Portugal
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/27792

 

[An Ard Ri]

That armour looks very similar to what the Roundheads wore during the English Civil War.

 

[Blog Real]

Portrait of King D. Pedro II.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Peter_II_of_Portugal_engraving.jpg

English-made cavalry armour of Pedro II, King of Portugal, consisting of a cuirass, bridle-hand gauntlet, buff coat and 3-barred lobster tailed pot helmet. These are of very high quality.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...igned_1683–1706)_with_Buff_Coat_MET_DT755.jpg

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Portrait of King Pedro II
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-peter-ii-king-of-portugal-141277238.html