Maria Leopoldina of Austria
Encyclopedia
Maria Leopoldina of Austria (Maria Leopoldina Josefa Carolina; 22 January 1797 – 11 December 1826) was an archduchess of Austria
, Empress consort of Brazil and queen consort
of Portugal
.
She was born in Vienna
, Austria
, as the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II
, and his second wife, Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies. Among her many siblings were Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria
and Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte
.
of Portugal. The Portuguese royal family had been living there in exile for ten years as a result of the Napoleonic Wars
. Leopoldina was highly cultured, fluent in six languages, and very interested in the natural sciences. In the years that followed she brought several researchers and biologists to her new homeland, starting with Johann Baptist von Spix
, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius
, and Johann Natterer
, who accompanied her in 1817.
When his father King John VI of Portugal
, returned to Lisbon
in 1821, Pedro chose to remain in Brazil with Leopoldina and their children. In 1822, Pedro headed Brazil's independence movement from Portugal, and he was crowned as the country's emperor.
. She also played an important role in the process of issuing a Declaration of Independence
. On 2 September 1822, a new decree with demands from Lisbon arrived in Rio de Janeiro
, while Prince Pedro was in São Paulo
. Leopoldina, advised by José Bonifácio, and using her power as Princess Regent
, met on 2 September 1822 with the Council of Ministers. She decided to send her husband the news along with a letter advising him to declare Brazil's independence and warned him, "The fruit is ready, it's time to harvest." Prince Pedro declared the country's independence upon receiving the letter on 7 September 1822.
When his father died on 10 March 1826, Pedro inherited the Portuguese throne as King Pedro IV, while remaining Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. Maria Leopoldina thus became both Empress consort of Brazil and Queen consort of Portugal. However, two months later, Pedro was forced to give up the Portuguese throne to their seven-year-old daughter Maria.
Leopolinda herself died in Rio de Janeiro in 1826, the same year as her father-in-law, at the end of a very eventful year for the House of Braganza
.
:
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Empress consort of Brazil and queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Portugal
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
.
She was born in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, as the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Francis II
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
, and his second wife, Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies. Among her many siblings were Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary and Bohemia , as well as associated dominions from the death of his father, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, until his abdication after the Revolutions of 1848.He married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child...
and Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma...
, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
.
Marriage to Pedro I
In 1817 she sailed to Brazil to marry Pedro, crown princeCrown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
of Portugal. The Portuguese royal family had been living there in exile for ten years as a result of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Leopoldina was highly cultured, fluent in six languages, and very interested in the natural sciences. In the years that followed she brought several researchers and biologists to her new homeland, starting with Johann Baptist von Spix
Johann Baptist von Spix
Dr. Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix was a German naturalist.Spix was born in Höchstadt, Middle Franconia, as the seventh of eleven children. His boyhood home is the site of the Spix Museum , opened to the public in 2004...
, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was a German botanist and explorer.Martius was born at Erlangen, where he graduated M.D. in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the botanic garden of the university...
, and Johann Natterer
Johann Natterer
Johann Natterer was an Austrian naturalist and explorer.In 1817, Emperor Franz IIfinanced an expedition to Brazil on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Archduchess Leopoldina to the Portuguese crown prince, Dom Pedro of Alcantara...
, who accompanied her in 1817.
When his father King John VI of Portugal
John VI of Portugal
John VI John VI John VI (full name: João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael; (13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826) was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (later changed to just King of Portugal and the Algarves, after Brazil was recognized...
, returned to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
in 1821, Pedro chose to remain in Brazil with Leopoldina and their children. In 1822, Pedro headed Brazil's independence movement from Portugal, and he was crowned as the country's emperor.
Empress of Brazil
Maria Leopoldina became Brazil's first empress consortQueen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
. She also played an important role in the process of issuing a Declaration of Independence
Brazilian Declaration of Independence
The Brazilian Independence comprised a series of political events occurred in 1821–1823, most of which involved disputes between Brazil and Portugal regarding the call for independence presented by the Brazilian Kingdom...
. On 2 September 1822, a new decree with demands from Lisbon arrived in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, while Prince Pedro was in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
. Leopoldina, advised by José Bonifácio, and using her power as Princess Regent
Prince Regent
A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
, met on 2 September 1822 with the Council of Ministers. She decided to send her husband the news along with a letter advising him to declare Brazil's independence and warned him, "The fruit is ready, it's time to harvest." Prince Pedro declared the country's independence upon receiving the letter on 7 September 1822.
When his father died on 10 March 1826, Pedro inherited the Portuguese throne as King Pedro IV, while remaining Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. Maria Leopoldina thus became both Empress consort of Brazil and Queen consort of Portugal. However, two months later, Pedro was forced to give up the Portuguese throne to their seven-year-old daughter Maria.
Leopolinda herself died in Rio de Janeiro in 1826, the same year as her father-in-law, at the end of a very eventful year for the House of Braganza
House of Braganza
The Most Serene House of Braganza , an important Portuguese noble family, ruled the Kingdom of Portugal and its colonial Empire, from 1640 to 1910...
.
Children
Maria Leopoldina and Pedro had seven children before she died in 1826 following a miscarriageMiscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
:
- Maria II of Portugal (1819–1853), following Pedro's devotion to Our Lady of Glória
- Miguel, Prince of BeiraMiguel, Prince of BeiraInfante Miguel of Portugal, Prince of Beira was the stillborn son of Portuguese heir to the throne Pedro, Prince of Brazil and Maria Leopoldina of Austria and was a member of the Braganza house.Prince Miguel was named thus, in honor of his father's younger brother Miguel of Portugal...
(1820). - João Carlos, Prince of Beira (1821–1822).
- Januária Maria, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1822–1901), named after the city of Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, married Prince Louis, Count of AquilaPrince Louis, Count of AquilaPrince Luigi Carlo Maria Giuseppe of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Aquila was a member of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.-Family:...
(1824–1897), son of King Francis I of the Two SiciliesFrancis I of the Two Sicilies-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
. - Princess Paula Mariana of Brazil (1823–1833).
- Princess Francisca of BrazilPrincess Francisca of BrazilFrancisca of Brazil was a princess of Brazil. She was a daughter of Pedro I of Brazil and IV of Portugal and his first wife Maria Leopoldina of Austria...
(1824–1898) married François, Prince of JoinvillePrince François, Prince of JoinvilleFrançois-Ferdinand-Philippe-Louis-Marie d'Orléans, prince de Joinville was the third son of Louis Philippe, duc d'Orléans, afterwards king of the French and his wife Marie Amalie of Bourbon-Sicilies. He was notable as an admiral of the French Navy.-Life:He was born at the Château de Neuilly, in...
(1818–1900), son of Louis-Philippe King of the French. - Pedro II of BrazilPedro II of BrazilDom Pedro II , nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of...
(1825–1891), married Princess Teresa of the Two Sicilies (1822–1889), the youngest daughter of King Francis I of the Two SiciliesFrancis I of the Two Sicilies-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
. - Miscarriage (11 December 1826).
Titles and styles
- 22 January 1797 – 11 August 1804 Her Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria
- 11 August 1804 – 6 November 1817 Her Imperial & Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria
- 6 November 1817 – 12 October 1822 Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, Duchess of Braganza
- 12 October 1822 – 10 March 1826 Her Imperial Majesty the Empress of Brazil
- 10 March 1826 – 28 May 1826 Her Imperial & Most Faithful Majesty the Empress of Brazil, Queen of Portugal
- 28 May 1826 – 11 December 1826 Her Imperial Majesty The Empress of Brazil
Ancestry
External links
- Article by Princess Michael of Kent about Leopoldine Retrieved 26 January 2006