Isabel de Bragança and Orleans, better known as Princess Isabel, or imperial princess of Brazil, she is the most quoted female historical character in our country. she was the emperor's daughter D.Pedro II, of the house of Bragança, and of the Empress Consort of Brazil, Teresa Cristina de Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Her great notoriety comes from the fact that she was the one who signed the Golden Law, that is, the law that abolished slaveryin Brazil. As a result of this historic gesture, Princess Isabel received the title of “The Redeemer”.
Little is known about the heiress of D. Pedro II in addition to the relationship with the abolitionist cause. Therefore, we selected six curious facts about this character. Check out!
1) she was declared heir to the Brazilian throne at 11 months of age
Princess Isabel, born on July 29, 1846, was the second fruit of the relationship between D. Pedro II and Teresa Cristina. the first was D. Afonso Pedro, born on February 23, 1845. D. Afonso was born when Pedro II was just 19 years old. The expectations placed on the boy, as the future successor to the throne, made the young emperor (D. Pedro II) matured and assumed, in fact, the positions of head of state and head of family – an aristocratic family, by the way.
However, on June 11, 1847, D. Afonso, after a sequence of convulsions, died, just over two years old. With her brother's death, Isabel became the heiresspresumptive (when there is no other apparent or preferable heir) of the Brazilian imperial throne, only 11 months old.
On July 19, 1848, the third son of D. Pedro II was born: Pedro Alfonso. With the birth of another man, Princess Isabel lost her position as heiress. However, this did not last long, as Pedro Afonso, like his older brother, also died prematurely, on January 9, 1850. With the death of her second brother, Isabel again became a presumptive heiress. As Pedro II and Teresa Cristina had only one more girl, Isabel became the official heiress in her father's succession.
2) Assumed power as princess regent on three occasions
At the height of his reign, from the 1870s onwards, D. Pedro II, when he was absent from Brazil, delegated the functions of head of state to his daughter. Three times the emperor was out of Brazil, Isabel became princess regent. Let's see:
1. During the First Regency, in 1871, the princess regent, together with José Maria da Silva Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco, who was head of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Empire, sanctioned the law of the free womb. The law was enacted on September 28 of the same year and resolved that no child born to black slaves would also be slaves.
2. At Second Regency, which took place between 1876 and 1877, the princess had to face political and personal problems. There was the terrible drought in the Northeast during this period, which was difficult to be remedied. In addition, there was a strong political-religious clash between two groups: the Freemasons and the Catholics. A great deal of public pressure was coming on Isabel, and her critics challenged her ability to replace her father. Isabel, without her father's ability and having suffered a miscarriage during the same period, preferred to retire to Petrópolis.
3. At Third Regency, which took place between the end of 1887 and the beginning of 1888, the more mature Princess Isabel joined explicitly to the abolitionist cause, becoming directly involved with protagonists of the subject, such as André Rebouças and Joaquim Nabuco. During this period, she came into direct confrontation with the Minister Baron of Cotegipe, slave, who was forced to resign from his post. It was during this third stay in power that, on May 13, 1888, the princess signed the Golden Law.
3) she was married to Gaston of Orleans, the Count d'Eu
Isabel was married to the French aristocrat Gastão de Orleans, the Count of Eu, with whom he had three children, Pedro de Alcantara (Prince of Grão-Pará), Luís and Antonio. The Count d'Eu became famous not only for having married Princess Isabel, but also for being one of the commanders of the Brazilian army at Paraguay Warand for ordering one of the biggest massacres in South America in the last phase of that war.
4) Rejected the proposal to retake the throne through a Civil War
After the military coup that dethroned D. Pedro II, on November 15, 1889, many movements that demanded the restoration of the monarchy appeared in Brazil. Some of them mixed with other claims, as was the case with the two Armada Revolts, occurred in the early 1890s. In this context, Princess Isabel, who was exiled with her family in Paris, would be quoted to assume the throne, since her father had died in the same city in 1891.
However, Isabel preferred to avoid bloodshed and resigned herself to no longer pretending to be Empress of the Brazil, as is clear in a note addressed to his last chief of staff, from the Third Regency, João Alfredo: ''My father, with his prestige, would probably have refused the civil war as a means of returning to the motherland... I regret everything that can arm brothers against brothers... That's how everything gets lost and how we get lost. You know my feelings as Catholic and Brazilian."
5) He died in exile, in 1921, at the Chateau d'Eu, in Paris
As said, after the Proclamation of the Republic, Princess Isabel and the entire royal family went into exile in France. The princess's last days were spent in the Castle of Eu, in Paris. She died on November 14, 1921. These last days were dedicated to the family and charitable works of the Catholic Church. Her husband died a year later.
6) In 1971, her remains were brought to Brazil and buried in Petrópolis
Fifty years after her death, in April 1971, the remains of Princess Isabel and also those of her husband, Conde d'Eu, were brought to Brazil. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, they received honors from heads of state and were exhibited at the Church of the Rosary, on Uruguaiana street.
Then, on May 13, 1971, in celebration of the Lei Áurea, the coffins went to the city of Petrópolis, heart of the tradition of the Brazilian Empire, and were buried in the cathedral of City.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/seis-fatos-curiosos-sobre-princesa-isabel.htm
