Isabella von Brasilien

Isabel of Brazil was born on July 29, 1846, at the São Cristóvão Palace in Rio de Janeiro. She was the eldest daughter of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and Empress Teresa Cristina. After the early deaths of her two brothers, Afonso Pedro and Pedro Afonso, she became the definitive heir to the throne in 1850 and thereafter held the title of Imperial Princess. She grew up in a protected and stable family environment, markedly different from the political and personal turmoil experienced by her father and his aunts. Isabel received a broad and demanding education. She studied Portuguese and French literature, history, astronomy, chemistry, geography, geology, philosophy, economics, music, and drawing. Among her teachers was her father, who instructed her in Latin, geometry, and astronomy. She later became fluent in French, English, and German. Despite this extensive education, she was inadequately prepared for the possibility of governing. Pedro II gave her little practical knowledge of state affairs, did not regularly take her to cabinet meetings or public audiences, and rarely discussed political questions with her. In a society dominated by men, he also fundamentally considered women poorly suited to rule an empire. Isabel grew up closely attached to her younger sister, Leopoldina. She was religious, devoted to her family, and accustomed to a secluded domestic life. From her parents she adopted an attitude in which race did not play a decisive role in personal relationships. At the same time, she remained politically reserved. She held firm opinions and spoke openly, but tended to lose interest in a subject when she encountered opposition. Unlike her father, she did not seek an independent political position and was content to support him. On October 15, 1864, she married the French prince Gastão de Orléans, Count of Eu. The couple had four children: Luiza Vitória, Pedro de Alcântara, Luís, and Antônio. Their marriage began with a journey through Europe. Gastão then had to leave to fight in the war against Paraguay, while Isabel remained in Rio de Janeiro. Her sister Leopoldina died in Coburg in 1871, leaving Isabel as the only surviving daughter of her parents. Isabel served as regent three times while her father was traveling abroad. During her first regency in 1871, she sanctioned the Free Womb Law, which freed all children born to enslaved people after the law took effect. Her second regency, beginning in 1876, was marked by political tensions, conflicts between Church and state, health problems, and a severe drought in Ceará. Isabel supported relief efforts for the affected region. During this period she suffered several miscarriages and difficult pregnancies. Her first son, Pedro de Alcântara, was born in 1875 after a prolonged labor; her second son, Luís, was born in 1878, and her third, Antônio, in 1881. During her third and final regency in 1887 and 1888, the abolitionist movement in Brazil gained considerable strength. Isabel was convinced that the government had to act, but the conservative prime minister, João Maurício Wanderley, Baron of Cotegipe, sought to slow the reforms. At the same time, tensions between the government and the army intensified. Isabel eventually dismissed Cotegipe and appointed the abolitionist João Alfredo Correia de Oliveira as the new head of government. In doing so, she created the political conditions for the rapid abolition of slavery. On May 13, 1888, Isabel signed Law No. 3,353, known as the Golden Law. It abolished slavery throughout the Brazilian Empire. Because of this decision, she became known as “the Redeemer.” Abolition was popular among large sections of the population and was especially supported by prominent abolitionists. At the same time, the monarchy and Isabel lost the support of many wealthy plantation owners, whose economic and political position was threatened by the end of slavery. Parts of the military also turned against the monarchy. Isabel later declared that she did not regret abolition, even if it meant losing the throne. On November 15, 1889, Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca overthrew the government and proclaimed the republic. Pedro II refused to suppress the uprising by force. Two days later, the imperial family left Brazil. Isabel, Gastão, and their children initially went to Portugal. Teresa Cristina died shortly after the deposition. The republican government also withdrew the family’s pensions and permanently banned them from Brazil. The family eventually settled in France. After Pedro II’s death in December 1891, Brazilian monarchists recognized Isabel as claimant to the abolished throne. She did not support military attempts to restore the monarchy, however, because she considered such efforts unwise and doomed to fail. Her later life was largely quiet. She devoted herself to her family, her Catholic faith, and charitable work. Her sons attended a military school in Vienna. After an inheritance, Isabel and Gastão were able to acquire the Château d’Eu in Normandy, where they preserved some of their Brazilian belongings and memories. Isabel’s family suffered serious losses. Luís died after a long illness, and Antônio was killed in a plane accident shortly after the First World War. Isabel’s health steadily deteriorated, and by 1921 she could barely walk. Although the republican government lifted the imperial family’s banishment in 1920, she was too ill to return to Brazil. Isabel died in France on November 14, 1921, at the age of 75. She was initially buried there; in 1953, her remains were transferred to Brazil together with those of her husband, and in 1971 they were reburied in Petrópolis beside Pedro II and Teresa Cristina. In Brazil, Isabel is remembered above all for the abolition of slavery. This decision was her most important political act, but it also contributed to the loss of monarchist support. Her reserved, domestic way of life and limited political independence made it difficult for her to build an independent following. In 2013, an official request was submitted to open a process for her beatification. The petition cited her role in abolishing slavery, her religious virtues, and the Golden Rose awarded to her by the Vatican.