Gaston d’Orléans, comte d’Eu

Gastão de Orléans, Count of Eu, was born Louis Philippe Marie Ferdinand Gaston d’Orléans on April 28, 1842, at the Château de Neuilly near Paris. He was the eldest son of Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours, and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Koháry, as well as a grandson of the French king Louis Philippe I. He therefore belonged to the House of Orléans, a junior branch of the Bourbons. After his grandfather was overthrown in the Revolution of 1848, the family had to leave France. Gastão was five years old at the time and grew up in British exile, chiefly at Claremont House near London, which Queen Victoria had made available to the family. He received a careful education from private tutors and learned Latin, English, German, and Portuguese in addition to French. At thirteen, he began his military career. At the suggestion of his uncle, the Duke of Montpensier, he went to Spain and attended the Military Academy of Segovia, completing his training with the rank of captain. In 1857, he lost his mother. Through his wide-ranging family connections, Gastão was related to numerous European ruling houses, including those of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, King Ferdinand II of Portugal, and King Leopold II of Belgium. Gastão gained his first military experience in the Spanish-Moroccan War. As a young officer, he took part in the fighting against Moroccan forces and returned to Spain in 1860, after the conflict ended, with a military reputation and several distinctions. A few years later, he was offered the possibility of marrying one of the daughters of the Brazilian emperor Pedro II. Gastão agreed to travel to Brazil, but wanted first to meet his prospective bride in person. On September 2, 1864, he arrived in Rio de Janeiro with his cousin, Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Gastão was initially engaged to Princess Leopoldina, while his cousin was expected to marry her elder sister Isabel. After meeting the two young men, however, Emperor Pedro II changed the arrangements: Gastão, who appeared older and more mature, was to marry Isabel. The wedding took place on October 15, 1864. Shortly after his arrival, Gastão received the Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Cross and was proposed as honorary president of the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute. The war against Paraguay soon became the central event of his life. While Gastão and Isabel were traveling in Europe, Paraguayan troops invaded Brazilian territories. In 1865, Pedro II summoned his son-in-law back to Brazil and sent him to Uruguaiana, where Brazilian, Argentine, and Uruguayan forces had surrounded a Paraguayan occupation force. On November 19, 1865, Gastão was appointed inspector general of artillery and chairman of a commission for improving the army. He twice requested permission to take part directly in the fighting, but the Council of State initially rejected his appeals. There were fears that his presence might be interpreted abroad as evidence of Brazilian plans for territorial conquest. It was also considered inappropriate for the husband of the heir to the throne to serve under an Argentine commander. Nevertheless, when the previous allied commander-in-chief, the Duke of Caxias, resigned in 1869, Gastão was appointed his successor at only twenty-seven years of age. In the field, he reorganized the Brazilian army and dismissed officers accused of looting. He employed varied tactics and personally took part in several battles, including the bloody Battle of Acosta Ñu. Contemporaries credited him with strategic skill, patience, and personal courage. Gastão also supported the definitive abolition of slavery in Paraguay, which he ordered with the emperor’s approval at the end of the war. At the same time, he was criticized because subordinates had ordered the execution of Paraguayan prisoners. As the war continued despite his exhaustion and the army’s poor supply conditions, he fell into deep despondency and partly withdrew from command. The conflict ended on March 1, 1870, with the death of the Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano López. When Gastão returned to Brazil, he was celebrated as a hero and appointed to the Council of State. Over the course of their marriage, Gastão and Isabel developed a close and loving relationship. The couple initially had difficulty having children and lost a daughter, Luísa Vitória, shortly after her birth in 1874. Three more children were born afterward: Pedro de Alcântara in 1875, Luís in 1878, and Antônio in 1881. The family affectionately called the children “Baby,” “Luís,” and “Totó.” Gastão gave Isabel particular support during the fears and depression she experienced after the loss of their first daughter. Together, the parents emphasized a simple upbringing. Their sons first attended a school in Petrópolis and later the Colégio Pedro II. The parents also chose Ramiz Galvão, a republican and positivist scholar, as one of their children’s tutors, reflecting Gastão’s willingness to value ability above political convictions. As prince consort, Gastão wanted to participate actively in Brazil’s development. Emperor Pedro II, however, largely kept both him and Isabel away from government decisions. This exclusion at times led to serious tensions between Gastão and his father-in-law. Gastão eventually devoted more attention to military reforms, education, libraries, orphanages, and charitable institutions. Together with Isabel, he supported operas and concerts whose proceeds benefited social causes. He also traveled extensively throughout Brazil, visiting regions in the south, north, northeast, and interior. His major journey through the north and as far as the border with Peru in 1889 was regarded as evidence that the monarchy still enjoyed considerable support there. Despite his efforts, Gastão remained extremely unpopular in Brazil. Republican politicians and newspapers made him a scapegoat for many of the country’s problems. His French accent, increasing deafness, and European origins reinforced the impression that he was a foreign influence on Isabel. He was also subjected to baseless accusations. Gastão complained that he was blamed for everything even though he possessed little political authority. His withdrawal from public life did not improve his reputation. Even his modest family life and his involvement in raising the children were mocked. After the republic was proclaimed in 1889, Gastão went into exile in Portugal with Isabel and their children and subsequently remained in Europe. In 1909, as his eldest son was preparing to renounce his dynastic rights, Gastão sought a special designation for his family as Princes of Orléans and Braganza. In 1921, he returned to Brazil to bring back the remains of the former emperors. Gastão died of natural causes on August 28, 1922, aboard the ship Massilia during another journey to Brazil. He was buried alongside Princess Isabel in the Imperial Mausoleum of the Cathedral of Petrópolis.