Emperor Pedro II (1825-1891) and Empress Teresa


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Pedro II de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga, Emperor of Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, 2 December 1825 – Paris, 5 December 1891); married in Napels on 17 September 1842 Princess Teresa Cristina Maria Josefa Gaspar Baltazar Melquior Januária Rosália Lúcia Francisca de Assis Isabel Francisca de Pádua Donata Bondosa André d'Avelino Rita Leodegária Gertrudes Venância Tadéia Espiridião Roca Matilda of the Two Sicilies (4 Napels, September 1822 – Porto, 15 November 1889)

Reign: 1831 - 1889

Preceeded by: Emperor Pedro I of Brazil

Succeeded by: Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil

Children: Afonso Pedro Prince of Grão Pará and Prince Imperial of Brazil Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil; Princess Leopoldine of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary and Pedro, Prince of Grão Pará and Prince Imperial of Brazil

Parents Pedro: Emperor Pedro I of Brazil and Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria

Parents Teresa: King Fransisco I of the Two Sicilies and Princess Maria Isabella of Spain

Siblings Pedro: Queen Maria II da Gloria of Portugal, Prince Miguel and Prince João of Brazil, Princess Januária of the Two Sicilies, Countess of Aquila, Princess Paula of Brazil and Princess Francisca d'Orleans, Princess of Joinville

Siblings Teresa: Princess Luise Carlota of Spain; Queen Maria Cristina of Spain; King Fernando II of Spain; Prince Carlo Ferdinando, Count di Capua; Prince Leopoldo, Count di Siracusa; Grand Duchess Maria Antonietta of Tuscany; Prince Antonio, Count of Lecce ; Princess Maria Amelie of Spain; Princess Maria Carolina of Spain, Countess of Montemolin; Prince Luigi, Count di Aquila and Prince Francesco, Count of Trapani

Half Siblings Teresa: Princess Carolina of France, Duchess of Berry and Prince Ferdinando of the Two Sicilies
 
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Emperor Pedro II, KG (pronounced [ˈpedɾu seˈgũdu]; December 2, 1825 – December 5, 1891) was the second and last Emperor of Brazil. His name in full was Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga de Bragança e Habsburgo, By the Grace of God and Unanimous Acclamation of the People, Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil.
When anglicised, his name would be Peter II of Brazil, full name Peter of Alcantara John Charles Leopold Salvador Bibiano Francis Xavier of Paula Leocadio Michael Raphael Gonzaga of Braganza and Habsburg.
He was born on December 2, 1825 in Rio de Janeiro, the seventh son of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil and Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria.

When he was a boy of five, Pedro became the Emperor of Brazil. His father Pedro I abdicated the Throne on April 7, 1831, after violent protests in Brazil against his careless handling of internal affairs, to fight a civil war in Portugal. The aim of the war in Portugal was to restore the throne of Portugal to Maria II, elder sister of Pedro II.
As a result of caring for his children's interests, in 1834, his father, Pedro I of Brazil (and Pedro IV of Portugal), had a daughter (who was only 15 years old) on the throne of Portugal and a son, Pedro II, who was Emperor of Brazil, at age 9.
During the Emperor's childhood, a series of regents administered the government, in accordance with the Constitution. In 1840, the Brazilian Imperial Parliament, or General Assembly, abolished the regency and declared Pedro to be of age to govern. Though only 14, Pedro already had a reputation as a judicious ruler, and the Imperial Parliament hoped that his popularity would quell the regional revolts that had rocked Brazil in the 1830s. Emperor Pedro II was consecrated and crowned on July 18, 1841.

Read the entire wikipedia here.
 
Teresa Cristina Maria of Brazil, born Teresa Cristina Maria of the Two Sicilies (Portuguese: Teresa Cristina Maria de Bourbon-Sicílias e Bragança; 14 March1822 - 28 December1889) was the empress consort of Pedro II of Brazil and Princess of the Two Sicilies. She was the daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabella of Spain.

On 4 September1842, Teresa married Pedro II of Brazil, a marriage that would last 46 years, until her death. Empress Teresa was endowed with rare cordiality and sense. Discreet and intelligent, she won her husband's favour with their common interest in culture. In the fleet to Brazil she brought artists, musicians, professors, botanists and other scholars. A good singer and amateur musician, she entertained at the palace. Moreover, she was a dedicated mother.

Empress Teresa suffered from a cardiac arrest a few days after the military coup of 15 November1889. During the journey of the Imperial Family to exile, Teresa was horrified by the rude treatment of the republicans dedicated to destroying the dynasty. To the ambassador of Austria she said that, "we are treated as criminals". On landing in Portugal she left for a simple hotel, in the city of the Porto, where she became ill. A doctor was called in and said nothing could be done. She was buried in the Pantheon of São Vicente de Fora, from where her remains have been transferred to the Imperial Mausoleum of the Cathedral of Petrópolis.

Read the entire article here.
 
Pedro agreed to marriage with Teresa of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies after seeing a painting of her.
When Teresa arrived in Brazil, Pedro was disappointed when he saw the Princess in person.
​
 
I’ve just been re-reading parts of Citizen Emperor: Pedro II and the Making of Brazil, 1825–1891 by Roderick Barman (probably the best and most thorough biography of Dom Pedro II ever published in English). It really was quite remarkable what he achieved during his reign, and how much modern Brazil owes to his enthusiasm and energy. But I am still confounded by his passive reaction to the coup of 1889. It is as if, after the deaths of his sons, and the acceptance that there would not be any more, he gave up on the future of the monarchy. I wonder what he would have done if either of the Princes Imperial had lived?

He took it for granted that the Princess Imperial would not be able to establish herself as Empress. Even though she successfully acted as regent, and is, of course, remembered to this day for signing the law that abolished slavery, the Emperor’s resignation remained and, in a way, became a self-fulfilling prophecy. But surely he could have seen there was hope for the monarchy in the Prince of Grão-Pará, the Princess Imperial’s eldest son? If Dom Pedro could not envisage a reigning empress, he could have encouraged the Princess Imperial to step aside for her son. He was 14 at the time of the coup, the same age that Dom Pedro, who had become emperor at the age of six, was declared of age and took up the reigns of government. It must have been frustrating for Brazilian monarchists to have had such a detached sovereign at the very moment strong leadership was required to save the empire.

How different things might have been if Emperor Dom Pedro had agreed to suppress the 1889 rebellion. Would nearly a century of instability and dictatorships have been avoided? I like to think that the Empire of Brazil would be going strong as a stable, prosperous and democratic constitutional monarchy. As for the dynasty, who knows what would have happened there. But just imagine, two Olympic games in a row opened by an emperor!
 
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Portrait of Empress Teresa, 1888.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Thérèse-Christine_de_Siciles.1.jpg

The portrait of Teresa Cristina that enticed Pedro II to accept the marriage proposal.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Portrait_of_D.Teresa_Cristina.jpg

Teresa Cristina, around age 27, with her children, c. 1849.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/A_imperatriz_e_filhos.jpg

Portrait of Empress Teresa Cristina in court dress, painted by Victor Meirelles, c. 1864.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Victor_Meirelles_-_Dona_Tereza_Cristina.jpg

Teresa Cristina around age 65, c. 1887.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Teresa_cristina_circa_1887_01_(cropped).jpg

Tomb of Teresa Cristina and Pedro*II within the*Cathedral of Petrópolis, Brazil.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Petropolis-Cathedral1.jpg
 
An 1841 painting of the Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil by Manuel de Araújo Porto-Alegre
640px-Manuel_de_Ara%C3%BAjo_Porto-alegre_-_estudo_para_a_sagra%C3%A7%C3%A3o_de_Dom_Pedro_II_-_c._1840.jpg

There were only 2 Coronations and unlike in European ceremonies the Empress Consorts of Brazil were not crowned.
 
Dom Pedro II established Brazil's first telephone and telegraph lines.
 
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