Maria Leopoldina of Austria

3.1. The Crossing of the Atlantic

Maria Leopoldina's journey to Brazil was arduous and lengthy. She departed Vienna for Florence on June 2, 1817, where she awaited further instructions from the Portuguese court, as monarchical authority in Brazil remained tenuous due to the Pernambucan revolt. On August 13, 1817, she finally set sail from Livorno, Italy, on the Portuguese fleet, comprising the ships D. João VI and São Sebastião. Accompanied by her extensive luggage and a large entourage-including court ladies, chambermaids, a butler, six ladies-in-waiting, four pages, six Hungarian nobles, six Austrian guards, six chamberlains, a chief Almoner, a chaplain, a private secretary, a doctor, a performer, a mineralogist, and her painting teacher-she endured an 86-day transatlantic crossing. Forty man-sized boxes contained her trousseau, books, collections, and gifts. She made her first stop on Portuguese territory not in Brazil, but on Madeira Island, on September 11.

Maria Leopoldina arrived in Rio de Janeiro on November 5, 1817, finally meeting her husband and his family. The official marriage ceremony was celebrated the following day at the Royal Chapel of Rio de Janeiro Cathedral, amidst city-wide festivities. Her physical appearance, though not conventionally beautiful, impressed the Portuguese royal family with her cultural depth and keen interest in botany. The artist Jean-Baptiste Debret was commissioned to decorate the city for her arrival, and he later made botanical drawings for Maria Leopoldina and designed the court's green and gold uniforms, the new state's decorations, the crown, and the insignia of the Order of the Southern Cross.

Dom Pedro, a year her junior, presented a stark contrast to the educated gentleman Maria Leopoldina had expected. His impulsive and choleric temperament, coupled with a modest education and rudimentary French, made communication difficult. He was primarily interested in horse racing and amorous affairs, living openly with the French dancer Noemie Thierry, who was removed from court by his father only after Maria Leopoldina's arrival. The young couple resided in modest rooms at the Palace of São Cristóvão, where tropical conditions made life challenging. The Baron von Eschwege, an Austrian agent, noted Pedro's lack of formal education and the uninspiring nature of the Rio court compared to European counterparts.

In the wake of Maria Leopoldina's arrival, Brazil saw its first significant wave of European immigrants. Swiss settlers established Nova Friburgo and later settled in the area of Petrópolis. From 1824, due to campaigns organized by Major Georg Anton Schäffer, German immigrants arrived in greater numbers, settling in Nova Friburgo and the southern provinces of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, where the colony of São Leopoldo was founded in Maria Leopoldina's honor. Some German-speaking Pomeranians who settled in Espírito Santo remained so isolated that they did not even speak Portuguese until the 1880s.

3.2. Austrian Scientific Mission

Brazil had a unique advantage in being studied by leading European artists and scientists long before other American nations. This began in the 17th century during the Dutch occupation of northeastern Brazil, when John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen brought experts like Willem Piso (tropical diseases), Frans Post and Albert Eckhout (painters), Cornelius Golijath (cartographer), and Georg Marggraf (astronomer) to document the region. Marggraf, along with Piso, co-authored Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (Amsterdam, 1648), the first scientific work on Brazilian nature.

Following the expulsion of the Dutch, Portugal implemented a strict policy prohibiting foreigners from accessing its overseas possessions and forbade the publication of any information about American lands. This policy persisted until the arrival of the Portuguese royal family in Brazil in 1808 and the subsequent "Decreto de Abertura dos Portos às Nações Amigas" (Decree of Opening Ports to Friendly Nations), which opened Brazil to the world.

The lifting of the ban on foreigners coincided with a difficult period for European naturalists, whose travel was hindered by the Napoleonic Wars. The vast, largely unexplored territory of Brazil thus sparked immense scientific interest in Europe. Maria Leopoldina, since her early youth, had developed a special interest in the natural sciences, particularly geology and botany. This passion, unusual for a princess, was encouraged by her father, Emperor Francis I.

In 1817, with the announcement of Maria Leopoldina's wedding to Dom Pedro, the Austrian court, in collaboration with Bavarian scientists, organized a major scientific expedition to Brazil. King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria sent his subjects, botanist and physician Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius and zoologist Johann Baptist von Spix. Additionally, Karl von Schreibers, Director of the Natural History Museum, Vienna, under Chancellor Prince von Metternich, assembled a mission of notable scientists, including botanist and entomologist Johann Christian Mikan, physician and mineralogist Johann Emanuel Pohl, flora painter Johann Buchberger, zoologist Johann Natterer, painter Thomas Ender, gardener Heinrich Wilhelm Schott, and Italian naturalist Giuseppe Raddi. Their objective was to collect specimens and create illustrations of Brazilian people and landscapes for a museum in Vienna.

The expedition's primary interest was to document the New World by researching its plants, animals, and indigenous populations. This fascination was fueled by the publication of the first volume of Le voyage aux régions equinoxiales du Nouveau Continent, fait en 1799-1804 by German geographer Alexander von Humboldt. Humboldt's work, which presented an encyclopedic view of his observations, greatly influenced artists like Johann Moritz Rugendas.

Maria Leopoldina's scientific interests continued after her arrival in Brazil. In 1818, she influenced her father-in-law to establish the Royal Museum, now the National Museum of Brazil, and contributed to the creation of the first Brazilian Natural History Museum, which promoted scientific exploration. In September 1824, the British writer Maria Graham arrived in Brazil and was warmly received by Dom Pedro and Maria Leopoldina. Graham was appointed governess to their eldest daughter, Maria da Glória, whose education had been neglected. Maria Leopoldina and Maria Graham quickly developed an affectionate friendship, bonded by their shared interest in the sciences. Although Dom Pedro dismissed Maria Graham after only six weeks, to Maria Leopoldina's dismay, their shared intellectual curiosity allowed them to remain close friends until Maria Leopoldina's death, as they sought knowledge not readily available to women in their male-dominated world.

4.1. The Conspirator of São Cristóvão

Maria Leopoldina grew up with a profound fear of popular revolutions, largely influenced by the fate of her great-aunt, Marie Antoinette, who was guillotined during the French Revolution. However, the Brazilian independence movement differed significantly; rather than threatening monarchical power, it surprisingly positioned Dom Pedro and Maria Leopoldina as protagonists. Brazilians, for the first time, saw them as allies rather than tyrants to be overthrown.

Despite her upbringing in a strict absolutist regime, Maria Leopoldina did not foresee her role as regent during the tumultuous period before the break with Portugal, nor her eventual defense of Brazilian independence-a stance directly contrary to her traditional education. She consistently sided with the Brazilian cause, frequently distinguishing between Portuguese and Brazilians in her letters to European friends, making clear her views on Portuguese domination. With the court's return to Portugal and Dom Pedro's appointment as Prince Regent of Brazil (April 25, 1821), Maria Leopoldina became convinced that remaining in America was essential to defending dynastic legitimacy against the liberal excesses threatening the power of the Habsburg and Bragança houses in Brazil. Dom Pedro, lacking political experience and overwhelmed by the instability, repeatedly asked his father to release him from the regency and allow his family's return to Portugal.

Maria Leopoldina's resolve to stay intensified with the support of José Bonifácio de Andrada, an educated statesman from São Paulo. With his help, she decisively persuaded her husband that preserving Brazil's territorial integrity depended on their continued presence. Consequently, on January 9, 1822, Dom Pedro famously declared: "Fico!" (I am staying!^Portuguese). At 24 years old, Maria Leopoldina's political decision committed her to an indefinite stay in America, forever depriving her of living near her immediate family in Europe. Much like her sister Marie Louise married Napoleon Bonaparte to foster Franco-Austrian relations, Maria Leopoldina's role in history proved even more profound.

Two days after Dom Pedro's "Dia do Fico", the decision of the Prince-Regent to remain in Brazil sparked outrage among the Portuguese Cortes (parliamentary representatives), who desired the royal family's departure and Brazil's fragmentation. Government offices were burned, and a revolution erupted. While Dom Pedro confronted the Cortes with his troops, Maria Leopoldina appeared on stage at the theatre and declared: "Remain calm, my husband has everything under control!" This announcement, met with jubilation, solidified her alignment with the Brazilian people.

However, Maria Leopoldina recognized the danger to her life. Seven months pregnant, she quickly fled to Santa Cruz with her three-year-old daughter Maria da Glória and eleven-month-old son João Carlos, undertaking a perilous twelve-hour journey. Though the political situation soon stabilized, and she returned to Boa Vista, her young son João Carlos tragically died on February 4, 1822, likely due to the strain. By the end of 1821, Maria Leopoldina's letters, such as one to her secretary Schäffer, reveal her greater determination for Brazil's cause than Dom Pedro's, advocating defiance of the Portuguese court. Her "Dia do Fico" effectively preceded her husband's.

On August 6, 1822, Dom Pedro signed the Manifesto to the Friendly Nations, denouncing the despotism of the Lisbon courts and urging other nations to deal directly with Rio de Janeiro rather than the Portuguese government. While the document explained Brazil's cause from a Brazilian perspective, it still indicated Dom Pedro's reluctance to fully sever ties, a neutrality Maria Leopoldina recognized as ineffective. Despite women's limited political roles, Maria Leopoldina strategically offered "specific advice and influencing others to her husband," achieving her objectives. Dom Pedro initially sought neutrality to avoid losing his inheritance to the Portuguese throne. Maria Leopoldina, however, understood that Portugal, dominated by its courts, was already lost, while Brazil remained a blank canvas with the potential to become a powerful nation, far more significant than the old metropolis. She foresaw that if Lisbon's orders were enforced, Brazil would fragment into dozens of republics, mirroring the fate of the Spanish colonies in South America.

Maria Leopoldina's unwavering defense of Brazilian interests is powerfully conveyed in a letter she wrote to Dom Pedro during the lead-up to independence: "You need to come back as soon as possible. Be persuaded that it is not only love that makes me want your immediate presence more than ever, but the circumstances in which the beloved Brazil is. Only your presence, a lot of energy and rigor can save you from ruin." In Rio de Janeiro, thousands of signatures were collected, demanding the regents' continued presence in Brazil. Following the "Dia do Fico", a new ministry was formed under the leadership of José Bonifácio, a staunch monarchist, and the Prince-Regent quickly gained public trust. On February 15, 1822, Portuguese troops departed Rio de Janeiro, symbolizing the dissolution of ties with the metropolis. Dom Pedro was triumphantly received in Minas Gerais.

4.2. Regency

When her husband traveled to São Paulo in August 1822 to stabilize the political situation, Maria Leopoldina was appointed his official representative and acting Regent. Her authority was formalized through an investiture document dated August 13, 1822, which named her head of the Council of State and Acting Princess-Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil, granting her full power to make necessary political decisions during his absence. Her influence on the independence process was immense. Brazilians were keenly aware of Portugal's intention to recall Dom Pedro, effectively reducing Brazil to a mere colony rather than a kingdom united with Portugal. Fears of a civil war separating the Province of São Paulo from the rest of Brazil were prevalent.

A new decree from Lisbon, containing further demands, reached Rio de Janeiro. Without time to await Dom Pedro's return, Maria Leopoldina, advised by José Bonifácio de Andrada and exercising her authority as interim head of government, convened the Council of State on the morning of September 2, 1822. She then signed the Decree of Independence, officially declaring Brazil separate from Portugal. Maria Leopoldina sent a letter to Dom Pedro, along with a letter from José Bonifácio and critical comments from Portugal regarding her husband's actions. In her letter, the Princess-Regent urged her husband to proclaim Brazil's independence with the urgent warning: "O pomo está maduro, colha-o já, senão apodrece^Portuguese" (The fruit is ripe, pick it up now, or it will rot^English).

Dom Pedro declared the Independence of Brazil on September 7, 1822, in São Paulo, upon receiving his wife's letter. Maria Leopoldina had also forwarded papers from Lisbon and comments from Antônio Carlos Ribeiro de Andrada, a deputy to the Portuguese courts, informing the Prince-Regent of the metropolis's criticisms. The position of John VI and his ministry, controlled by the courts, was precarious. While awaiting her husband's return, Maria Leopoldina, now the interim ruler of an independent country, conceptualized the design for the new flag of Brazil. She combined the green of the House of Braganza with the golden yellow of the House of Habsburg. Some sources also attribute elements of the design to Jean-Baptiste Debret, working in collaboration with José Bonifácio de Andrada, with the green rectangle representing Brazil's forests and the yellow rhombus symbolizing the gold of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. Subsequently, Maria Leopoldina dedicated herself to securing international recognition for the new nation's autonomy, writing letters to her father, the Emperor of Austria, and her father-in-law, the King of Portugal.

Maria Leopoldina became Brazil's first Empress consort, officially acclaimed as such on December 1, 1822, during the coronation ceremony and consecration of her husband as Dom Pedro I, Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil. Due to Brazil's status as the sole monarchy in South America at the time, Maria Leopoldina held the unique position of being the first Empress of the New World.

4.3. Bahia's Participation in the Independence Process

Bahia, once the initial seat of government, a radiating center for metropolitan policies, and a strategic port, lost its privileged status with the discovery of gold in the Hereditary Captaincy of Espírito Santo. The region where the gold deposits were found by Bandeirantes was dismembered and transformed into the province of Minas Gerais, a process that repeated as new deposits emerged, shrinking the Captaincy of Espírito Santo and creating an ill-fated barrier against gold smuggling. This eventually led to the transfer of the capital to Rio de Janeiro in 1776. Salvador initially resisted the permanent relocation of the court in 1808.

During Brazil's separation from Portugal, Bahia harbored opposing factions: a pro-independence interior and a capital loyal to the Lisbon court. After September 7, 1822, an armed struggle ensued, culminating in victory for the imperial troops on July 2, 1823. Bahian women actively participated in this patriotic conflict. Maria Quitéria, who clandestinely enlisted as a soldier loyal to the Brazilian cause, was later described by Maria Graham and decorated by the Order of the Southern Cross by Emperor Pedro I. The oral tradition of Itaparica Island also credits Afro-Brazilian Maria Felipa de Oliveira with leading over 40 black women in defending the island. Sister Joana Angélica, Abbess of the Convent of Lapa, gave her life to prevent Portuguese troops from entering the cloister.

The political awareness of women was further highlighted in the "Carta das senhoras baianas à sua alteza real dona Leopoldina^Portuguese" (Letter from the Bahian ladies to Her Royal Highness Dona Leopoldina), which congratulated the Princess-Regent for her crucial role in patriotic resolutions on behalf of her husband and the country. This letter, signed by 186 Bahian ladies and delivered in August 1822, expressed their profound gratitude for Maria Leopoldina's decision to remain in Brazil. Maria Leopoldina herself commented on women's political engagement in a letter to her husband, noting that the ladies' attitude "proves that women are more cheerful and are more adherent to the good cause." Despite not resuming its role as the governmental headquarters, Bahia played a significant part in the regional political balance that favored the Brazilian Empire. In recognition of this support, the Emperor and Empress visited Salvador between February and March 1826.

7.1. Popular Commotion

Maria Leopoldina was immensely loved by the Brazilian people, and her popularity surpassed that of Dom Pedro. As her health declined rapidly in November 1826, marked by cramps, vomiting, bleeding, and delusions, worsened by a new pregnancy, Rio de Janeiro closely monitored her condition. The ambassador of the Kingdom of Prussia, Theremim, reported the widespread public demonstrations of affection for the Empress to the court of Berlin: "The consternation among the people was indescribable; never [...] has such an unanimous feeling been seen. The people were literally on their knees pleading with the Almighty for the preservation of the Empress, the churches were not empty and in the domestic chapels everyone was on their knees, the men formed processions, not of habitual ones that almost usually provoke laughter, but of true devotion. In a word, such unexpected affection, manifested without dissimulation, must have been a real satisfaction for the sick Empress."

On December 7, 1826, the Diário Fluminense reported the ongoing anxiety of the people of Rio de Janeiro, who ceaselessly sought news of the Empress's "afflictive state." The newspaper described crowds, rich and poor, nationals and foreigners, gathering with tears and downcast faces, all asking: "How is the Empress?" On the afternoon of December 6, numerous processions, carrying "the Sacred Images of the respective churches," proceeded to the Imperial Chapel. Father Sampaio, the official preacher, remarked: "Never was observed on the entrance of São Cristóvão such amount of people; the carriages were run over; everyone ran in tears, however, that in the city center the prayer processions revolved, with their images, and with the accompaniment of the whole clergy, either regular or secular. The people cannot see without public signs of piety the image of Nossa Senhora da Glória, who never left her temple, and who, for the first time, under a lot of rain, went like visiting the Empress, who appeared every Saturday at the feet of its altars...There was, in a word, no brotherhood that did not take the saints of the greatest devotion to the Imperial Chapel."

7.2. Cause of Death

The precise cause of Maria Leopoldina's death remains a subject of historical debate. Some authors attribute her passing to puerperal sepsis, particularly as the Emperor was away in Rio Grande do Sul inspecting troops during the Cisplatine War.

A widely propagated theory, supported by historians such as Gabriac, Carl Seidler, John Armitage, and Isabel Lustosa, suggests that Maria Leopoldina died as a direct result of physical assaults during a violent tantrum by her husband. This alleged incident occurred on November 20, 1826, when Maria Leopoldina was preparing to assume the regency while Dom Pedro traveled south for the war. To dispel rumors of his extramarital affairs and marital discord, Dom Pedro I planned a large farewell reception, demanding that both the Empress and his mistress, the Marchioness of Santos, appear together for the protocolary hand-kissing ceremony. Maria Leopoldina, refusing to officially acknowledge her husband's mistress, defied his orders and refused to attend. The Emperor, known for his volatile temper, reportedly had a bitter argument with his wife, allegedly dragging her around the palace and attacking her with words and kicks. He then attended the reception solely with the Marchioness of Santos before departing for the war. The only witnesses to this aggression were the three individuals involved, and suspicions regarding the assault were raised by the ladies-in-waiting and doctors who attended to Maria Leopoldina afterward. However, some argue that the accounts were exaggerated, with historian Pedro Calmon stating: "It was exaggerated, that Dom Pedro had kicked her, and this was the reason for her illness. The scene, witnessed by the Austrian agent [referring to Baron Philipp Leopold Wenzel von Mareschal], consisted of wild words. Maria Leopoldina lacked reasons for the disturbance of pregnancy, the failure of which she succumbed."

The Empress, who had suffered from severe depression for months and was in the twelfth week of pregnancy, experienced a profound deterioration in her health. It was reported that she dictated a final letter to her sister Marie Louise, in which she mentioned the "terrible attack" she had suffered from her husband in the presence of his mistress. However, recent studies, particularly by Paulo Rezzutti, suggest this letter may be a fabrication. The original French version has never been found, and the Portuguese copy, preserved in the Imperial Museum in Petrópolis, only surfaced on August 5, 1834, nearly eight years after her death, with witnesses who were significantly indebted to Maria Leopoldina.

New forensic analysis conducted between March and August 2012 by coroner Luiz Roberto Fontes provides an alternative explanation. Fontes stated that a "serious illness" caused Maria Leopoldina's miscarriage and subsequent death, dismissing the theory of a physical altercation. Tomography revealed no bone fractures, ruling out legends of falls or direct assault. According to Fontes, the first threat of miscarriage occurred on November 19, with a small bleed. Her condition worsened with fever and severe diarrhea, indicative of a dangerous intestinal hemorrhage for a pregnant woman. On November 30, she began experiencing delusions. Medical records show she miscarried a male fetus of about three months' gestation on December 2, days before her death. Even after the miscarriage, her health continued to decline with increasing delusions, fever, and hemorrhages, leading to a "clear septic picture, a picture of death."

7.3. Death and Preservation of Memory

Maria Leopoldina died at the São Cristóvão Palace within the Quinta da Boa Vista, in the São Cristóvão neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, on December 11, 1826, just five weeks before her 30th birthday. Her funeral ceremony was presided over by Francisco do Monte Alverne, the official preacher of the Empire of Brazil. Her body, draped in the imperial mantle, was placed within three nested urns: the first of Portuguese pine, the second of lead (inscribed in Latin with a skull and crossed tibias, bearing the imperial silver coat), and the third of cedar.

She was initially buried on December 14, 1826, in the church of the Ajuda Convent, located in what is now Cinelândia. When the convent was demolished in 1911, her remains were transferred to the Santo Antônio Convent, also in Rio de Janeiro, where a mausoleum was built for her and other members of the imperial family. In 1954, her remains were definitively reinterred in a green granite sarcophagus adorned with gold, located in the Imperial Crypt and Chapel beneath the Ipiranga Monument in São Paulo.

During Maria Leopoldina's agony, various rumors circulated, including that she was imprisoned at the Quinta da Boa Vista or being poisoned by her doctor at the behest of the Marchioness of Santos. Domitila de Castro's already low popularity plummeted, leading to her house in São Cristóvão being stoned and her brother-in-law, a butler to the Empress, being shot twice. The Marchioness's right to attend the Empress's medical appointments, in her capacity as lady-in-waiting, was revoked, and palace officials advised her to cease attending court. The official statement issued to the Emperor on December 11 regarding his wife's death reported seizures, high fever, and delusions. Enjoying immense popular appreciation, Maria Leopoldina's death was widely mourned across the nation. Her passing significantly contributed to the decline in Dom Pedro I's popularity, compounding the problems of his reign. The writer and biographer Carlos H. Oberacker Júnior noted that "rarely has a foreigner been so dear and recognized by a people like her."

This version of events, particularly the rumors of abuse, spread to Europe and severely tarnished Dom Pedro I's reputation, making his subsequent attempts at a second marriage very difficult. It is said that Francis I of Austria, the first recipient of the Imperial Order of Dom Pedro I, received the decoration as an apology from his son-in-law, the Brazilian Emperor.