Dom Pedro II Biography, Full Name, Quotes, and Death

Dom Pedro II Biography

Dom Pedro II (1825–1891) was the second and last Emperor of Brazil. He became Prince Regent at the age of five when his father Dom Pedro I abdicated the throne. At the age of 15, he was declared the greatest and crowned Emperor of Brazil. His reign, which lasted nearly fifty years, began on July 23, 1840, and ended on November 15, 1889, when the Republic was proclaimed.

Childhood and Education

Dom Pedro II was born in São Cristóvão Palace (Quinta da Boa Vista), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 2, 1825. Son of Emperor Dom Pedro I and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina, he was named Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bebiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga de Bragança.

His mother, the Empress Dona Leopoldina, who was already ill, died in 1826, leaving Pedro in the care of the chief chambermaid Dona Mariana Carlota de Verna Magalhães, later the Countess of Belmonte.

Pedro de Alcântara was the fourth child of the imperial couple, but with the death of his older brothers, he became the heir to the throne of Brazil and on August 2, 1826, he was recognized as heir to the crown of the Brazilian empire.

His father, Emperor Dom Pedro I Quotes, who had been facing severe political opposition, accused of favoring Portuguese interests in Brazil, abdicated the throne on April 7, 1831, and sailed back to Portugal leaving Pedro as “regent” with only five years old.

To guide his son’s education, Dom Pedro I appointed José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva as the boy’s tutor. In 1833, José Bonifácio was replaced by Manuel Inácio de Andrade Souto Maior, marquis of Itanhaém.

For the education of the future emperor, distinguished teachers of their time were appointed. He studied Portuguese, literature, French, English, German, geography, natural sciences, painting, piano and music, fencing, and horse riding.

Governing Period

With the abdication of Dom Pedro I, and the underage of the emperor, Brazil was governed by different groups that made up the ruling class and disputed among themselves for political power.

The Regency Period, which lasted for nine years, from April 1931 to July 1840, spanned four regencies: Temporary Triune Regency, Permanent Triune Regency, One Regency of Feijó, and One Regency of Araújo Lima.

The period of the regency was marked by violence and social and political conflicts. The urban and rural miserable strata took up arms and left for armed struggle, demanding better living conditions.

Among the revolutionary movements that took place in different provinces, the following stand out: the Cabanagem, the Sabinada, the Balaiada, and the Guerra dos Farrapos.

Early Adulthood and Coronation

Faced with the social rebellions that threatened and frightened the agrarian elite, the progressives (liberals) and the regressive (conservatives) concluded that only the figure of an emperor with absolute powers could restore order

In 1834, Dom Pedro I died in Portugal. In 1840 the struggle for the majority of the emperor, then 15 years old, began.

On July 23, 1840, Pedro was proclaimed Major. The act became known as the “Coup of Majority”. With this maneuver, the Regency Period ended and the Second Reign began. On July 18, 1841, Dom Pedro II has crowned Emperor.

Second Reign

The Second Reign, which began on July 23, 1840, when Dom Pedro II was considered greater, lasted almost half a century and can be historically divided into three distinct phases:

• stage of civil struggles until the Praieira Revolution
• the phase of external struggles ended with the Paraguayan War
• the phase of the abolitionist and republican campaigns.

The day after the proclamation of majority, Dom Pedro II appointed his first ministry composed of liberals, where the Andrada brothers and the Cavalcanti brothers stood out.

The “Ministry of the Brothers” lasted a short time, eight months later a new cabinet composed of conservative politicians was appointed. Liberals tried to return to power with two revolts, one in São Paulo and the other in Minas Gerais.

In 1847 the absolutist monarchy was replaced by the parliamentary monarchy, with the creation of the law on the “Presidency of the Council of Ministers”. From then on, the emperor, instead of naming all the ministers, chose only the prime minister.

It was up to the prime minister to form the new ministry, which had to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies. During the Second Reign, thirty-six ministerial cabinets were formed.

At the beginning of the second reign, Brazil began to recover from the economic crisis, as coffee exports enriched the provinces of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais.

However, Pernambuco province, which had been the main sugar producer in the colonial period, had a drop in sugar and cotton production.

This situation displeased the liberals who decided to create their own party: the “Partido da Praia” and started the revolt known as the “Praieira Revolution”, which, in addition to other demands, called for the end of the monarchy and the proclamation of a republic. In 1949, the troops were surrendered and surrendered in exchange for a general amnesty offered by the government.

Only after the first half of his reign, agitated by several revolts, the struggle in the Rio de la Plata region, and the Paraguayan War, Dom Pedro undertook several trips abroad, always in the company of his wife, leaving Princess Isabel as regent.

In the second half of the imperial government, the economy underwent significant changes that altered the national historical process, Brazil modernized and urbanized. Public gardens, theaters, hotels, and ballrooms were built.

The cultivation of coffee, cocoa, rubber, and cotton contributed to the country’s economic development. Several steam navigation companies, eight railroads, textile factories, and a gas company were inaugurated in Brazil, which allowed the streets to be lit with gas lamps.

Marriage and Children

The marriage of Dom Pedro II to Teresa Cristina de Bourbon was a political arrangement with Francis I, king of the Two Sicilies. The wedding took place in the chapel of the Chiaramonte palace, in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy, on May 30, 1843. Dom Pedro II was represented by the Count of Siracusa, brother of D. Teresa Cristina.

On September 3, 1843, Teresa Cristina landed in Rio de Janeiro, to get married on the same day. Dom Pedro II saw a girl get off the ship who did not correspond to the description that had been done, however, Teresa Cristina was a companion, understanding, discreet, and a loving mother, gifts that erased the first impression.

Dom Pedro and D. Teresa had four children, Afonso (who died before the age of two), Princess Isabel (who was called “The Redeemer”), Princess Leopoldina (who married the German prince Luís Augusto de Saxe-Coburg- Gout), and Pedro (died before the age of two).

The Abolitionist Campaign

Several movements carried out in the Second Reign called for the release of slaves. In 1850, the abolitionist campaign was intensified with the signing of the Eusébio de Queirós Law, which abolished the slave trade.

In 1871, the Free Womb Law was signed, which declared all children born to a slave mother born from the enactment of the law to be free. This law also determined the release of all blacks who belonged to the government.

The abolitionist campaign was increasingly intensified. In 1885, the Sexagenarian Law was signed, which decreed the freedom of blacks over 65 years of age. This law was condemned by the abolitionists, as the average life of black slaves did not go beyond 40 years.

Finally, on May 13, 1888, “Princess Isabel” signed the Golden Law that determined the definitive extinction of slavery.

Proclamation of the Republic

The republican ideal that emerged in Brazil through various movements, only after the “War of Paraguay” reappeared, strengthened, and spread rapidly. The monarchic regime lived its final moments.

On November 15, 1889, due to the combination of political interests, the imperial government was overthrown. The Republic was proclaimed in Brazil. The next day a “Provisional Government” was organized, which set a 24-hour deadline for the imperial family to leave the country.

Exile and Death

Dom Pedro de Alcântara embarked with his family for Portugal on November 17, 1889, two days after the Proclamation of the Republic. Arriving in Lisbon on December 7, he went to Porto, where the empress died on the 28th of the same month.

Pedro de Alcântara, aged 66, went alone to Paris, staying at the Bedford Hotel, where he spent the day reading and studying. Visits to the National Library were his refuge. In November 1891, with diabetes sequelae, he no longer left his room.

Dom Pedro II died at the Bedford Hotel, in Paris, France, on December 5, 1891, as a result of pneumonia. His mortal remains were transferred to Lisbon, and placed in the convent of São Vicente de Fora, next to his wife’s.

Dom Pedro II Quotes

I am Pedro, Emperor of Brazil. I have little time for pleasantries, what brings you here?

I was born to consecrate myself to the languages and sciences, and, if I had to choose between occupying a political position, I would rather be a president or minister to that of an Emperor.

I swore to the Constitution, but even if I had not sworn to it, it would be to me a second religion.

Politics is to me the harsh fulfillment of duty.