![]() ![]() He and Amélie immediately departed for Europe, leaving behind the Prince Imperial, who became Emperor Dom Pedro II. Pedro I's desire to restore his daughter Maria II to her Portuguese throne, which had been usurped by his brother Miguel I, as well as his declining political position at home led to his abrupt abdication on 7 April 1831. Prince Pedro developed an affectionate relationship with her, whom he came to regard as his mother. Two and a half years later, his father married Princess Amélie of Leuchtenberg. Empress Maria Leopoldina died on 11 December 1826, a few days after a stillbirth, when Pedro was a year old. The only legitimate male child of Pedro I to survive infancy, he was officially recognized as heir apparent to the Brazilian throne with the title Prince Imperial on 6 August 1826. Through his mother, Pedro was a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and first cousin of Emperors Napoleon II of France, Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary and Don Maximiliano I of Mexico. His mother was the Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria, daughter of Franz II, the last Holy Roman Emperor. He was the grandson of Portuguese King Dom João VI and nephew of Dom Miguel I. Through his father, Emperor Dom Pedro I, he was a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza (Portuguese: Bragança) and was referred to using the honorific Dom ( Lord) from birth. Peter of Alcantara, his name in full was Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga. Pedro was born at 02:30 on 2 December 1825 in the Palace of São Cristóvão, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Historians have regarded the Emperor in an extremely positive light and several have ranked him as the greatest Brazilian. ![]() A few decades after his death, his reputation was restored and his remains were returned to Brazil with celebrations nationwide. The men who had exiled him soon began to see in him a model for the Brazilian Republic. The reign of Pedro II thus came to an unusual end-he was overthrown while highly regarded by the people and at the pinnacle of his popularity, and some of his accomplishments were soon brought to naught as Brazil slipped into a long period of weak governments, dictatorships, and constitutional and economic crises. ![]() He spent the last two years of his life in exile in Europe, living alone on very little money. He did not allow his ouster to be opposed and did not support any attempt to restore the monarchy. Pedro II had become weary of emperorship and despaired over the monarchy's future prospects, despite its overwhelming popular support. There was no desire for a change in the form of government among most Brazilians, but the Emperor was overthrown in a sudden coup d'état that had almost no support outside a clique of military leaders who desired a form of republic headed by a dictator. A savant in his own right, the Emperor established a reputation as a vigorous sponsor of learning, culture, and the sciences, and he won the respect and admiration of people such as Charles Darwin, Victor Hugo, and Friedrich Nietzsche, and was a friend to Richard Wagner, Louis Pasteur, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, among others. Pedro II steadfastly pushed through the abolition of slavery despite opposition from powerful political and economic interests. Brazil was also victorious in the Platine War, the Uruguayan War, and the Paraguayan War, as well as prevailing in several other international disputes and domestic tensions. The nation grew to be distinguished from its Hispanic neighbors on account of its political stability, zealously guarded freedom of speech, respect for civil rights, vibrant economic growth, and form of government-a functional representative parliamentary monarchy. Pedro II inherited an empire on the verge of disintegration, but he turned Brazil into an emerging power in the international arena. His experiences with court intrigues and political disputes during this period greatly affected his later character he grew into a man with a strong sense of duty and devotion toward his country and his people, yet increasingly resentful of his role as monarch. His father's abrupt abdication and departure to Europe in 1831 left the five-year-old as emperor and led to a grim and lonely childhood and adolescence, obliged to spend his time studying in preparation for rule. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza. Dom Pedro II (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed the Magnanimous ( Portuguese: O Magnânimo), was the second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years.
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