Maria Isabel de Alcântara, Countess of Iguaçu

Maria Isabel de Alcântara Bourbon was born on February 28, 1830, in São Paulo, as the fifth and youngest child of Brazilian Emperor Pedro I and his mistress, Domitila de Castro, the Marchioness of Santos. She was given the name of her older sister, the Duchess of Ceará, who had died in 1828 at only two months of age. Her eldest sister, Isabel Maria, held the title of Duchess of Goiás. Despite her illegitimate birth, Maria Isabel grew up largely like her siblings. Her descent from the relationship between Pedro I and the Marchioness of Santos was known in Brazilian society, but it had a more pronounced effect on her legal and social position only later. Like her father, she suffered from epilepsy. Her childhood unfolded in the shadow of the imperial family, while she received the education customary for a member of the Brazilian nobility. This included European-influenced social graces and traditional etiquette. Her daily life was shaped by dresses, porcelain, and the expectations placed on a young noblewoman, reflecting the lifestyle of Brazil’s upper class. Although Maria Isabel was intended eventually to live as the Countess of Iguaçu, she did not receive the title directly from her father. Because of the adulterous relationship from which she was born, Pedro I granted her neither a title nor land. In this respect, her formal position differed from that of her imperial half-siblings and other members of the ruling family. Nevertheless, she remained part of the extensive noble world shaped by her father, her mother, and her many siblings and half-siblings. She later received significant support from her half-brother Pedro II, the second emperor of Brazil. He granted her extensive lands, including pastures and livestock in Juiz de Fora and Ouro Preto, as well as in the districts of Antônio Pereira, Cachoeira do Campo, Lavras Novas, and Amarantina. She also received properties in Congonhas, Moeda, and Mariana. These estates provided an important material foundation for her later life. On September 2, 1848, at the age of eighteen, Maria Isabel married Pedro Caldeira Brant, Count of Iguaçu. He was the son of the Marquis of Barbacena and took Maria Isabel as his second and final wife. Through the marriage, she became the second Countess of Iguaçu. The couple lived in the parish, town, and city of Nossa Senhora da Piedade do Iguaçu, present-day Nova Iguaçu, at the Engenho de Santo Antônio de Jacutinga. The estate stood on a hill in what is now Belford Roxo, in the Baixada Fluminense, and later fell into ruins. Maria Isabel and Pedro Caldeira Brant had seven children. Their first daughter, Isabel Caldeira Brant, was born in January 1849 and died on July 19 of the same year. Pedro de Alcântara Caldeira Brant, born in 1850, married Maria Luísa Pereira de Brito and left descendants. Their other children were Luís de Alcântara Caldeira Brant, Maria Teresa, Isabel Maria, Deolinda da Conceição, and João Severino de Alcântara Caldeira Brant. Maria Teresa was married to Charles Collins, Isabel Maria to Antônio Dias Pais Leme, Deolinda to Claudiano Bonifácio dos Santos, and João Severino to Salviana Cândida Fortes. Several of these marriages also produced descendants. Maria Isabel died in September 1896 at the age of sixty-six. After her death, the location of her burial remained uncertain for a long time. While the graves of many members of the imperial family were known and easily found, her grave could not be reliably located for approximately 120 years. The uncertainty was further increased by the fact that she had frequently traveled between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro during her lifetime. In addition, members of the Brazilian nobility were not infrequently buried in Europe, including in Germany and Portugal. The architect and historian Paulo Rezzutti eventually began searching for her burial place. He examined obituaries and newspaper reports and came across an article titled “As Raízes da Condessa de Iguaçu,” published in O Estado de S. Paulo on September 6, 1896. Following this lead, he found a note in the civil registry of Santa Ifigênia stating that Maria Isabel had been buried in the municipal cemetery. She had initially lain in state at Consolação Cemetery, where the countess’s coffin stood beside that of her mother, the Marchioness of Santos. While examining the municipal historical archive, Rezzutti finally discovered her gravestone. It was unadorned and bore no engraved name, which had made the grave difficult to identify for decades.