In royal history, it has usually been focus on the males - and the sole purpose of the queens and princesses have been to birth the heir to the throne, and marry well so that their countries may live in peaceful alliances with other countries - and other than that, be as inconspicuous as possible. This month, the Newsletter team is putting focus on some women who may have gone beyond the expectations, in some way or other. It is a limited number we have chosen, and while we're certain that there should be several more included, time as well as summer holidays put a stop to it.
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Margrete I (Margaret I) – When Margrete Valdemarsdatter was born in 1353 – one couldn’t possibly have foreseen how her life would impact the way of life in Scandinavia for a long time to come. Certainly, a princess was meant to marry well – and she fulfilled that aspect by being married off as a ten-year-old, to the king of Norway. A queen was meant to give her husband and her country an heir, and she fulfilled that, when she at seventeen, gave birth to a boy, Olav/Oluf. Her goal in life had been attained. However, as the sole surviving child of Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark upon his death in 1375 – she managed to get her five-year-old son elected King of Denmark. As Olav was underage, his mother was to be regent until her son came of age. When her husband, Håkon VI of Norway, passed away – Olav inherited the throne, Norway and Denmark were united in a personal union under the same king – with Margrete as the regent. When Olav passed away in 1387, Margrete took into her care her sister’s nephew. She was elected regent in Denmark in 1387, and in Norway in 1388. Eventually, she would also be elected regent of Sweden – hence she controlled an area that spanned from today’s Finland in the east to Greenland in the west. In 1396, she had her sister’s nephew hailed as king in Kalmar, and formed a formal union between the three countries, but while she might have turned over the visible crown – she was still the one pulling the strings until her death in 1412. The Kalmar Union lasted for over 100 years, but would continue to make a mark on Scandinavian society for a long time to come.
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Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil - She was heir to the throne of Brazil (with the title of Princess Imperial) during the last decades of the reign of her father Pedro II of Brazil.
Isabel was regent of the empire three times while her father traveled abroad. A liberal, the princess joined those who wanted the slavery abolished. She supported young politicians and artists, although many of them were part of the republican movement that started to be created. She used to pay with her own money so that slaves would be free.
On June 30th, 1887 Isabel was acting as regent for the third time. She then took advantage of an incident and fired the whole ministry, that was against the abolition. The road was open for the total abolition.
On Sunday, May 13th, 1888, the final voting for the total abolition was taking place. Isabel was so sure of the victory that she came down from Petropolis to wait for the results at the Imperial Palace. And then, with a golden feather, specially designed for the occasion, Isabel signed the final abolition of slavery edict (the "Lei Áurea", Golden Law, effectively banning slavery), and because of that she was nicknamed the Redeemer. On September 28th, the Pope Leo XIII awarded her with the "Golden Rose".
With a very innovative thought for her time, Isabel was a partisan of modern ideas, like the female vote and the agrarian reformation. Recently discovered documents showed that the princess thought about compensating the ex-slaves with Mauá Bank's resources.
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Isabella of Castile - She was Queen regnant of Castile and Leon. She and her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon, laid the foundation for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Carlos I of Spain.
Certainly one of the most important and best known actions that Isabella was responsible for was the authorization for the expedition of Christopher Columbus. She rejected his plans three times before changing her mind. His conditions (the position of Admiral; governorship for him and his descendants of lands to be discovered; and ten percent of the profits) were met. On August 3, his expedition departed. He returned the next year and presented his findings to the monarchs, bringing natives and gold under a hero's welcome. Spain entered a Golden Age of exploration and colonization.
In 1494, by the Treaty of Tordesillas, Isabella and Ferdinand divided the Earth, outside of Europe, with Portugal. Ferdinand and Isabella were strong leaders who worked to unify Spain physically as well. This was largely achieved after the conquest of Granada in 1492.
The birth of Isabella’s son in 1478 consolidated the political stability as it meant a clear line of succession for the Spanish throne. Isabella ensured long-term political stability in Spain by arranging strategic marriages for each of her five children. Her firstborn, a daughter named Isabella, married Alfonso of Portugal, forging important ties between these two neighbouring countries and hopefully ensuring peace and future alliance. Juana (the Mad), Isabella’s second daughter, married Philip the Handsome, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and later ruled Castile with him. She was the mother of Charles V. Isabella’s first and only son, Juan, married Margaret of Austria, maintaining ties with the Habsburg dynasty. He died leaving no children. Her fourth child, Maria, married Manuel I of Portugal, strengthening the link forged by her older sister’s marriage and was the mother of John III. Her fifth child, Catherine, first married Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, and, after his death, his younger brother Henry VIII, King of England and was mother to Queen Mary I.
