 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Maria II of Portugal" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Maria II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait byJohn Simpson,c. 1837 | |||||
| Queen of Portugal | |||||
| 1st reign | 2 May 1826 – 11 July 1828 | ||||
| Predecessor | Pedro IV | ||||
| Successor | Miguel I | ||||
| Regents | Infanta Isabel Maria(1826–1828) Infante Miguel, Duke of Beja(Feb–Jul 1828) | ||||
| 2nd reign | 26 May 1834 –15 November 1853 | ||||
| Acclamation | 20 September 1834 | ||||
| Predecessor | Miguel I | ||||
| Successor | Pedro V | ||||
| Co-monarch | Fernando II(1837–1853) | ||||
| Regent | Pedro IV(May–Sep 1834) | ||||
| Born | (1819-04-04)4 April 1819 Palace of São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ||||
| Died | 15 November 1853(1853-11-15) (aged 34) Necessidades Palace, Lisbon, Portugal | ||||
| Burial | 19 November 1853 | ||||
| Spouses | |||||
| Issue Detail | |||||
| |||||
| House | Braganza | ||||
| Father | Pedro I of Brazil and IV of Portugal | ||||
| Mother | Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria | ||||
| Religion | Catholicism | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
DonaMaria II (Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga de Habsburgo-Lorena e Bragança; 4 April 1819 – 15 November 1853) also known as "the Educator" (Portuguese:"a Educadora") or as "the Good Mother" (Portuguese:"a Boa Mãe"), wasQueen of Portugal from 1826 to 1828, and again from 1834 to 1853. Her supporters considered her to be the rightful queen also during the period between her two reigns.
Maria was born inRio de Janeiro during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King DomJoão VI. She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Braganza, who later became Emperor DomPedro I and Empress DonaMaria Leopoldina of Brazil. In 1826, her father became king of Portugal but quickly abdicated in favour of the seven-year-old Maria. Both Pedro and Maria remained in Brazil, and her aunt DonaIsabel Maria initially served as regent for them in Portugal. Later Emperor Pedro's brotherMiguel replaced Isabel Maria as regent and was to marry Maria when she came of age. However, a few months after Miguel's arrival in Portugal in early 1828 he deposed the absent Maria and declared himself king, thus beginning theLiberal Wars over royal succession. Maria remained outside Portugal throughout her first reign, finally arriving in Gibraltar just in time to learn of her deposition. She proceeded to England and then returned to Brazil. In 1831 her father (having abdicated the Brazilian throne) returned to Europe with his daughter and led a military expedition in support of Maria's claim while she pursued her education in France. She finally set foot in Portugal for the first time in 1833 after Lisbon was occupied by forces supporting her. In 1834, Miguel was forced to abdicate and Maria was restored as undisputed queen. She remained a member of theBrazilian imperial family until 1835 when she was excluded from the Brazilian line of succession by law.
Maria's second reign was marked by continued political turmoil. In January 1835, she marriedAuguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg, who died two months after their marriage. In April 1836, Maria remarried toPrince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Kohary. Maria's second husband was proclaimed King Dom Fernando II a year later in accordance with Portuguese law following the birth of their first child,Pedro. Maria faced a series of difficult pregnancies and ultimately died in childbirth in 1853, at the age of 34. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Dom Pedro V.
Maria II was bornMaria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga[1] on 4 April 1819 in thePalace of São Cristóvão inRio de Janeiro,Kingdom of Brazil. She was the eldest daughter of PrinceDomPedro de Alcântara, futureKing of Portugal as Pedro IV and firstEmperor of Brazil as Pedro I, and his first wife DonaMaria Leopoldina (née Archduchess Caroline Josepha Leopoldine of Austria), herself a daughter ofFrancis II, Holy Roman Emperor. She was titledPrincess of Beira upon her birth. Born inBrazil, Maria was the only European monarch to have been born outside of Europe, though she was still born in Portuguese territory.
The death of Maria's grandfather, King DomJoão VI, in March 1826 sparked a succession crisis in Portugal. The king had a male heir, Dom Pedro, but Pedro had proclaimed the independence ofBrazil in 1822 with himself as Emperor. The late king also had a younger son, Infante DomMiguel, but he was exiled to Austria after leading a number of rebellions against his father and his liberal regime.
Before his death, the king had nominated his favourite daughter, Dona Isabel Maria, to serve asregent until "the legitimate heir returned to the kingdom" — but he had failed to specify which of his sons was the legitimate heir: the liberal Emperor Dom Pedro I in Brazil or theabsolutist, exiled Miguel in Austria.
Most people considered Pedro to be the legitimate heir, but Brazil did not want him to unite the Portuguese and Brazilian thrones again. Aware that his brother's supporters were ready to bring Miguel back and put him on the throne, Pedro decided for a more consensual option: he would renounce his claim to the Portuguese throne in favor of his eldest daughter Maria (who was only seven years old), and that she was to marry her uncle Miguel, who would accept the liberal constitution and act as a regent until his niece reached theage of majority.
During her first reign, Maria remained in Brazil with her father, and her aunt Isabel Maria continued to serve as regent until Miguel agreed to his brother's plan and returned to replace her in that role in early 1828. Miguel pretended to accept the agreement, but a few months after his arrival in Portugal he deposed Maria and proclaimed himself king, abrogating the liberal constitution in the process. Maria had finally sailed from Brazil a few days earlier, escorted by theMarquis of Barbacena. She was expected to land in Genoa and proceed from there to her grandfather's court in Vienna.
Maria's first reign was interrupted by the coup d'état led by her uncle, fiancé and regent Miguel, who was proclaimed King of Portugal on 11 July 1828,[2] thus beginning theLiberal Wars that lasted until 1834, the year in which Maria was restored to the throne and Miguel exiled to Germany.
The Marquis of Barbacena, arriving inGibraltar with the Queen on 3 September 1828, was informed by an emissary of what was happening in Portugal. He had the foresight to understand that Miguel had come from Vienna determined to put himself at the head of the absolutist movement, advised by PrinceKlemens von Metternich, who was directing European politics, and so it was dangerous for the young Queen to go to Vienna. Taking responsibility, he changed the direction of the journey, and departed forLondon, where he arrived on 7 October. TheWellington–Peel ministry openly sponsored Miguel, so the asylum the Marquis had sought was not safe. Maria II was received in court with the honors due to her high rank, but the British prevented the Portuguese emigres from going to the garrison onTerceira Island.
_-_Exposi%25C3%25A7%25C3%25A3o_D._Maria_II%2c_Pal%25C3%25A1cio_Nacional_da_Ajuda_(2021-06-18).png)
Miguel's coup d'état had not gone unopposed. On 16 May 1828, the garrison of Porto revolted, and in Lagos an infantry battalion did likewise. The revolts were stifled. Saldanha, Palmela, and others, who had come to take charge of the movement in Porto, re-embarked on the shipBelfast, which had brought them; the Porto garrison, reinforced by the academic volunteers ofCoimbra and other liberal troops, emigrated toGaliza and from there to England. In January 1829, at the head of a small liberal expedition, theMarquis of Saldanha attempted to disembark in Terceira,Azores, but was prevented from doing so by the British frigateHMSRanger, which was unable to prevent the Count of Vila Flor from disembarking on 22 June 1829.[3] In time, because in August 1829 appeared in front of the island a large Miguelist squadron that landed a body of disembarkation. A battle ensued on August 11th in the village of Praia, where the Miguelists were defeated. When the emigrants in England received the news of the victory, they felt great enthusiasm. They soon lost hope when they found out that the young Queen was returning to Brazil. In fact, Maria II's situation in the British court, alongside the unfriendly attitude of the Wellington–Peel ministry, became embarrassing and humiliating. The Queen left London for Portsmouth to join the ship carrying her new stepmother,Amélie of Leuchtenberg from Ostend to Brazil. They left together on 30 August 1829 forRio de Janeiro, arriving on 16 October.
The constitutional cause was considered lost. The scattered emigrants (France, England, and Brazil) were divided into rival factions. Only Terceira Island recognized constitutional principles, and even there, Miguelist guerrillas emerged, and Maria remained there for four months. France was ready to recognize Miguel's government when the July Revolution broke out in Paris in 1830, which emboldened Portuguese liberals.
On 7 April 1831, Dom Pedro I abdicated the imperial crown of Brazil on behalf of his son DomPedro II, Maria's younger brother, and came to Europe with his second wife and (sailing in a separate ship, and arriving later) his daughter, to support Maria's rights to the crown of Portugal and join the forces loyal to her in theAzores in theirwar against Miguel. He took the title ofDuke of Braganza, and of Regent in her name.
Almost at the same time, the regency ofTerceira Island, named by Pedro and composed of theMarquis of Palmela, the Count of Vila Flor and José António Guerreiro, prepared an expedition that soon took possession of theAzores. While extending the constitutional territory, Pedro disembarked inFrance, being welcomed with sympathy by the new government and byLouis Philippe I. Miguel's government had defied the immunities of French subjects and had not at once satisfied the complaints of the French government, which had sent a squadron commanded by Admiral Roussin to force the bar of Lisbon and impose humiliating conditions of peace.
Pedro left his daughter inParis to finish her education in the care of her stepmother,Empress Amélie, with good teachers, and left for the Azores at the head of an expedition organized on Belle Isle, bringing his supporters together. Arriving in the Azores on 3 March 1832, he formed a new ministry, assembled a small army, whose command he gave to the Count of Vila Flor, and giving command of the fleet to Admiral Sartorius,[4] departed for mainland Portugal, disembarking on 8 July at Memória Beach inMatosinhos. It was followed by theSiege of Porto and a series of battles until, on 24 July 1833, theDuke of Terceira entered victorious in Lisbon, having won theBattle of Cova da Piedade the day before. Porto and Lisbon, the main cities, were in the power of the liberals.
Maria and her stepmother crossed from France to England, were received byKing William IV andQueen Adelaide at Windsor, and then left for Portugal on a British naval ship, finally arriving in Lisbon for the first time in September 1833. Pedro pursued the war, eventually forcing his brother,Miguel toabdicate in 1834. Maria was thereupon restored as undisputed queen, and obtained an annulment of her betrothal. Soon after her restoration to the throne and her declaration of majority (so that no further regents would be necessary, although she was still only 15), her father died from tuberculosis.
On 7 February 1833, in order to protect the Queen, the2nd Lancers Regiment was created, first known as theRegimento de Lanceiros da Rainha (Queen's Lancers Regiment), with the mottoMorte ou Glória, "Death or Glory" (the same as the 17th Lancers, since Lt. Col. Sir Anthony Bacon was its first commander), a fortunate coincidence since the queen's name was Maria da Glória.
Occupying the Portuguese throne, Maria II was stillheir presumptive to her brother Pedro II asPrincess Imperial of Brazil, until her exclusion from the Brazilian line of succession by law no. 91 of 30 October 1835.[5]
Maria marriedAuguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg, son ofEugène de Beauharnais and grandson ofEmpress Josephine of France, on 26 January 1835, at the age of fifteen. However, he died only two months later, on 28 March 1835.
On 9 April 1836, Maria married the culturedPrince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In accordance with Portuguese law, he was proclaimed King Dom Fernando II upon the birth of their first child and heir,Pedro.
On 9 September 1836, Maria faced theSeptember Revolution—an uprising sparked by dissatisfaction with the government's reforms and a crisis over the legitimacy of theConstitutional Charter of 1826. The movement led to the fall of the existing government and the end ofDevorismo, resulting in the adoption of theConstitution of 1838. A royalist counter-coup later that year, known as theBelenzada, failed due to strong resistance from the army, National Guard, and Lisbon's population.
After the September Revolution, Portugal continued to experience political unrest, including the failedRevolt of the Marshals in 1837 and theRossio massacre in 1838. In 1842, the statesmanCosta Cabral seized power in a coup, restoring the Charter of 1826 with the support of the queen. Cabral went on todominate Portuguese politics until 1846.
In 1842,Pope Gregory XVI presented Maria with aGolden Rose.
Maria's reign saw a revolutionary insurrection on 16 May 1846, known as theRevolution of Maria da Fonte, sparked by widespread discontent with new military, fiscal, and religious laws. The revolt led to the fall of theCartista government, but when Queen Maria II dismissed its replacement in apalace coup on 6 October, it reignited the conflict. This triggered thePatuleia, or Little Civil War, between royalist forces and a coalition ofSeptembrists andMiguelists. The civil war ended in June 1847 with a victory for the royalists after foreign intervention. Portugal otherwise avoided the wider EuropeanRevolution of 1848.
Maria's reign was also notable for a public health act aimed at curbing the spread ofcholera throughout the country. She also pursued policies aimed at raising the levels of education throughout the country.
.jpg)
From her first pregnancy at the age of eighteen, Maria II faced problems in giving birth, with prolonged and extremely difficult labor. An example of this was her third pregnancy, whose labor lasted 32 hours, after which a girl was baptizedin articulo mortis with the name of Maria (1840).
At 25 years of age and in her fifth pregnancy, Maria II became obese and her births became even more complicated. In 1847, the fetal distress that preceded the birth of her eighth child –Infante Augusto, Duke of Coimbra – brought to the world a child "quite purple and with little breathing".
The dangerous routine of successive pregnancies, coupled with obesity (which eventually caused her heart problems) and the frequency ofdystocic births (worrisome, especially as a multiparous woman) led doctors to warn the queen about the serious risks she would face in future pregnancies. Indifferent to the warnings, Maria II merely replied: "If I die, I die at my post."
.png)
On 15 November 1853, thirteen hours after the onset of labor of the stillborn Infante Eugénio, her eleventh child, Maria II died at the age of 34. The announcement of death was published in the Government Gazette of 16 November 1853:
Necessidades Palace, November 15, 1853, at half an hour after noon.
Her Majesty the Queen began to notice announcements of childbirth at nine-thirty of last night. Difficulties appeared in the progress of the same childbirth, which forced the doctors to resort to operations, through which the extraction of an Infante was obtained, of time, who received the baptism before being extracted.
The result of these operations took place at ten o'clock in the morning. Unfortunately, after an hour and a half, Her Majesty, exhausted from all strength, surrendered her soul to God, after having received all the sacraments.
- Francisco Elias Rodrigues da Silveira. Dr. Kessler. Ignacio António da Fonseca Benevides. António Joaquim Farto. Manuel Carlos Teixeira.
In a letter dated 28 November 1853, the Duchess of Ficalho, the queen's lady-in-waiting, reported the outcome to her brother, the2nd Count of Lavradio:
At two o'clock after midnight from the 14th to the 15th, I was ordered to go to the Palace, where I arrived at about three o'clock. I found the Empress in the Queen's room, where I immediately entered, thinking Her Majesty troubled and even a little out of character. We stayed like that until five o'clock, and then we left the immediate room and asked Teixeira[a] what he thought, to which he replied: "Her Majesty is going well, but slowly". I did not like it, and it was like that, until half past eight. It was then that Teixeira called the doctors, who were out and who had not seen the Queen, and as soon as they examined her, the horrible operation was decided. The doctors were Teixeira, Farto,[b] Kessler,[c] Elias[d] and Benevides.[e] Kessler immediately considered the case very dangerous.
The operation began. I climbed onto the bed. On the right side, the Empress, full of tears; the Queen, without fainting, but with a very bad look and, complaining that she was suffering a lot, said in her natural voice: "O Teixeira? If I am in danger, tell me; don't deceive me.
The Empress got down from the bed, and said to me: "The Queen must confess"; and immediately went to tell the King, who replied: "Call the Patriarch". By this time, Farto had already baptized the boy. The Patriarch entered, and the operation was not completely finished, and everything was horrible, but it was more than ten o'clock. When it was over, the Patriarch spoke to the Queen, who was in very bad shape, and told her to perform the act of contrition with him to absolve her, but, after this, Her Majesty was able to confess, receive the sacrament and be anointed, and at half past eleven o'clock she expired.
The Queen was saying: "- It is nothing like the other times". And she had already undergone an operation. I cannot explain the consternation of King Fernando and the entire Palace.[6]
Queen Maria II is remembered as a good mother and a kind person who always acted according to her convictions in her attempt to help her country. She was later given thenickname "The Good Mother".
Maria first marriedAuguste Charles, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg, son ofEugène de Beauharnais, grandson ofEmpress Josephine, on 26 January 1835. After his death, she marriedFerdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son ofPrince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha andPrincess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág, on 9 April 1836. They had eleven children.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auguste de Beauharnais (9 December 1810 – 28 March 1835; married on 26 January 1835) | |||
| Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (29 October 1816 – 15 December 1885; married on 9 April 1836) | |||
| Pedro V | 16 September 1837 | 11 November 1861 | Succeeded his mother as Peter V, 31st (or, according to some, 32nd) King of Portugal. |
| Luís I | 31 October 1838 | 19 October 1889 | Succeeded his brother, Pedro, as 32nd (or, according to some, 33rd) King of Portugal. |
| Infanta Maria | 4 October 1840 | Stillborn daughter. | |
| Infante João | 16 March 1842 | 27 December 1861 | Duke of Beja |
| Infanta Maria Ana | 21 August 1843 | 5 February 1884 | Married KingGeorge of Saxony and was the mother of KingFrederick August III of Saxony. |
| Infanta Antónia | 17 February 1845 | 27 December 1913 | MarriedLeopold, Prince of Hohenzollern, and was the mother of KingFerdinand I of Romania. |
| Infante Fernando | 23 July 1846 | 6 November 1861 | Died of typhoid fever at age 15. |
| Infante Augusto | 4 November 1847 | 26 September 1889 | Duke of Coimbra |
| Infante Leopoldo | 7 May 1849 | Stillborn son. | |
| Infanta Maria | 3 February 1851 | Stillborn daughter. | |
| Infante Eugénio | 15 November 1853 | Stillborn son. | |
| Royal styles of Queen Maria II of Portugal | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Reference style | Her Most Faithful Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Most Faithful Majesty |
National honours[7]
Brazil: Dame Grand Cross of theOrder of the Southern CrossForeign honours[7]
Austria: Dame of theOrder of the Starry Cross, 1st Class
Russia: Dame Grand Cordon of theOrder of Saint Catherine,September 1850[8]
Spain: Dame of theOrder of Queen Maria Luisa,27 May 1834[9]
Two Sicilies: Knight of the Order ofOrder of Saint Januarius Two Sicilies: Bailiff Knight Grand Cross with Collar of Justice of theSacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George| Ancestors of Maria II of Portugal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In 1832,Letitia Elizabeth Landon publishedThe Queen of Portugal, a poem protesting at her banishment and offering sympathy and hope for a peaceful restoration.[14] This accompanied a vignette portrait of the Queen byJames Holmes.[15]
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)Maria II of Portugal Cadet branch of theHouse of Aviz Born: 4 April 1819 Died: 15 November 1853 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Queen of Portugal 1826–1828 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Miguel | Queen of Portugal 1834–1853 withFerdinand II (1837–1853) | Succeeded by |
| Brazilian royalty | ||
| New title | Princess Imperial of Brazil 12 October 1822 – 2 December 1825 | Succeeded by |
| Princess of Grão-Pará 2 December 1825 – 2 May 1826 | Vacant Title next held by Pedro de Alcântara | |
| Preceded by Pedro | Princess Imperial of Brazil 7 April 1831 – 30 October 1835 | Succeeded by |
| Portuguese royalty | ||
| Preceded by | Duchess of Braganza 12 October 1822 – 2 May 1826 | Vacant Title next held by Pedro |
| New title | Duchess of Porto 4 April 1833 – 31 October 1838 | Succeeded by |
| House of Burgundy (1139–1383) | _-_Lesser.png) | |
|---|---|---|
| House of Aviz (1385–1580) | ||
| House of Habsburg (1581–1640) | ||
| House of Braganza (1640–1910) | ||
Debatable or disputed rulers are initalics. | ||
|  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Forefathers | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st generation | ||
| 2nd generation | ||
| 3rd generation | ||
| 4th generation | ||
Consorts are initalics - * member of thePortuguese royal family | ||
| 1st generation |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd generation | ||
| 3rd generation |
| |
The House of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza was not a recognized house in the formerKingdom of Portugal and monarchs following Maria II and Ferdinand II officially continued to be members of theHouse of Braganza | ||
