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| Pedro I of Brazil the Liberator @Wikipedia |
(1798-1834)
Emperor of Brazil
1822-1831
Pedro IV of Portugal
1826.
Son of: Joao VI do Brasil & Carlota Joaquina de España.
Husband of:
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| Maria Leopoldina of Austria Empress of Brazil @Wikipedia |
1. Maria Leopoldina von Osterreich (1797-1826), mar 1817
" . . . He was betrothed to Archduchess Maria Leopoldina, an Austrian Princess. Married by proxy, he was already her husband when he greeted her at the port of Rio de Janeiro six months later. Together they would have seven children. Leopoldina was much better at statecraft than Pedro and the people of Brazil loved her, although Pedro found her plain and continued to have regular affairs, much to Leopoldina's dismay. x x x In 1826 his wife Leopoldina died, apparently of an infection brought on after a miscarriage. The people of Brazil loved her and lost respect for Pedro due to his well-known dalliances; some even said that she had died because he hit her. . . ." (ThoughtCo)
"Like his ancestors D. Pedro II and D. Afonso VI, D. Pedro delighted in rowdy behaviour and made companions far below him in social status. He indulged recklessly in sexual adventures and, in the process, fathered a number of children. However, as heir to the throne it was essential he should marry and, after prolonged negotiations, a bride was found for him from the Austrian Habsburg family. On 13 May 1817 he was married by proxy to Archduchess Leopoldina, sister of Napoleon's wife Marie Louise. The marriage was successful and Leopoldina gave birth to seven children in all. However, marriage did not interfere for long with D. Pedro's sexual adventures and in 1822 he began the most notorious of his liaisons with Domitila de Castro. . . ." (The Braganzas: 204)
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| Amelie of Leuchtenberg Empress of Brazil @Wikipedia |
2. Amelie von Leuchtenberg (1812-1873), mar in 1829.
"Pedro began looking to remarry, but word of his poor treatment of the respected Leopoldina preceded him and most European princesses wanted nothing to do with him. He eventually settled on Amélie of Leuchtenberg. He treated Amélie well, even banishing his longtime mistress, Domitila de Castro. . . ." (ThoughtCo)
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| Pedro I of Brazil, 1834 @wikia.org |
Early years and youth life.
"D. Pedro was born on 12 October 1798 and was nine years old when he accompanied his father and the royal family to Brazil. He grew up in Rio and was profoundly influenced by the life he lived there. Unlike many of the Braganzas, he was strong, handsome and energetic, but was epileptic and suffered a number of grand mal seizures. It also seems probable that, as a boy, he suffered from what the twenty-first century would call ADHD. Like earlier members of his family, he was passionately fond of riding and horsemanship and as a teenager spent much time with his brother Miguel at the royal ranch at Santa Cruz, where they broke in wild horses and where D. Pedro learned to be an expert farrier. Throughout his time in Brazil there were numerous occasions when he performed extraordinary feats of horsemanship, covering remarkable distances in short periods of time, leaving his retinue behind." (The Braganzas: The Rise and Fall of the Ruling Dynasties of Portugal and Brazil 1640-1910: 203)
Personal appearance & personal qualities.
"Pedro I was twenty-four years old when he became sovereign of Brazil, which under Portugal, had experienced three centuries of neglect and misrule. In appearance he was pleasing, for there was a courtly elegance about his short, sturdy figure, and his open countenance was dominated by large, expressive, dark eyes. He had an alert but poorly trained mind, and was fond of mechanics and the fine arts. For music he had decided talent and had composed a number of pieces. His disposition and character were now more pronounce and complicated than they were when, as an interesting little boy, he had fled with his parents from the armies of Bonaparte. He was impulsive, but stubborn; energetic but at times indecisive; democratic, generous, and friendly; but occasionally he resorted to wild fits of anger and to deeds of brutality. He was likewise romantic and sentimental, given to self-dramatization, and ambitious for glory. In morals as well as in character he was undisciplined, for as a child he had been permitted to run the streets freely, and to associate with almost whomsoever he would. While still in his teens he had affairs with a number of women. In politics he inclined, theoretically, towards French revolutionary philosophy and liked to think of himself as a liberal. He took seriously his duties as a ruler and certainly meant to do well by his subjects." (Dom Pedro the Magnanimous, Second Emperor of Brazil: 8)
Dom Pedro's likes & dislikes.
"As a young man, Pedro was handsome and energetic and fond of physical activities like horseback riding, at which he excelled. He had little patience for things that bored him, such as his studies or statecraft, although he did develop into a very skilled woodworker and musician. He was also fond of women and began a string of affairs at a young age. . . ." (Biography of Dom Pedro I, First Emperor of Brazil @ThoughtCo)
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| Pedro I of Brazil @gibanet |
A high visible & prolific extramarital love life.
"In Addition, a highly visible and prolific extramarital love life rocked Pedro's two marriages and further complicated his relations with the Brazilian elite. Although discreet affairs might have been accepted and pardoned in this patriarchal, macho culture, discretion was not one of Pedro's strong points. For much of the 1820s, he carried on a very public and torrid love affair with Domitila de Castro, the wife of an army officer. She bore his children, and sometimes accompanied him on official state functions, and he eventually ennobled her as the Marchioness of Santos. Although the Marchioness was well liked by the Brazilian elite, Pedro's blatant disregard for his wife, Leopoldina, and their bitter arguments, created a great deal of unnecessary ill will." (Brazil: The Once and Future Country: 30)
His lovers were:
1) Ana Augusta.
A nun.
Natural offspring: Pedro.
2) Clemence Saisset (c1800-?)
Natural offspring:
a. Pedro de Alcântara Brasileiro.
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| Domitila de Castro @Wikipedia |
3) Domitila de Castro (1797-1867)
Marchioness of Santos
Lover in 1822-?
Also known as:
Domitila de Castro do Canto e Melo
Personal appearance & personal qualities:
"Domitila de Castro became the great love of Dom Pedro's life. Twenty-four years old when they met in 1822, she was almost a year older than her lover. She was an attractive light-skinned woman with chestnut-colored hair; dark, greenish eyes; a delicate, slightly hooked nose; and a mouthful of straight, pearly white teeth. Domitila was taller than average, well built, with ample bosom and hips, and arms and neck that seemed shaped by a sculptor---having no visible bones or muscle. She carried herself with extraordinary grace, and dressed to accentuate her best features. When Dom Pedro saw her, he had to have her. Domitila was more than willing to giver herself to him, seeing in this royal suitor a way out of her miserable provincial existence. Once Dom Pedro was hers, she devoted her considerable talents to keeping him, to making the romance endure." (Dom Pedro: 169)
Character/persona.
"Domitila de Castro was intelligent, worldly, seductively beautifpul, and politically ambitious. She understood how to please Brazil's emperor in ways his wife was unable or unwilling to do. In his earlier indiscretions, Pedro protected Leopoldina's feelings and position. With Domitila he protected neither. By January 1823 Pedro's new mistress moved from Santos near Sao Paolo to Rio de Janeiro. To many Brazilians she became that 'Santos Woman.'. . . ." (Isabel Orleans-Braganca : 57)
First encounter.
" . . . [O]n visiting Sao Paulo province in August 1822, Pedro I encountered Domitila de Castro Canto e Melo---young, unhappily married to a military officer, and very attractive. Shrewd and ambitious, D. Domitilia possessed all the allure and all the arts of management that D. Leopoldina so conspicuously lacked. . . ." (Citizen Emperor: Pedro II and the Making of Brazil, 1825-1891: 16)
" . . . [Pedro's] marriage did not interfere for long with D. Pedro's sexual adventures and in 1822 he began the most notorious of his liaisons with Domitila de Castro. Without much concern to hide his infidelity from his wife or the public, he had Domitila housed in Rio where she bore him a number of children -- a situation that, not surprisingly, caused acute distress to Leopoldina, especially when Domitial was introduced to the court as a lady-in-waiting. . . D. Pedro's insensitive behaviour became extreme when, in 1825, he went north on board his flagship, taking with him both his wife and mistress. In 1826 D. Pedro formally recognized his illegitimate children by Domitila and conferred titles on them and on their mother and her family. . . ." (The Braganzas: 206)
One of the great love affairs of the Americas.
"Twenty-three-year-old Prince Pedro, heir to the Portuguese throne, enthusiastically took up his duties as regent with authority over internal affairs. He was a talented and complex young man. Unfortunately his education had been neglected during his rather undisciplined childhood. Nonetheless, he exhibited a large measure of common sense and sagacity. His energy was great and not a little of it invested in amorous escapades. For many years, he lived openly with his mistress, the beautiful Domitila de Castro, who bore hum five children and on whom he conferred the title of 'Marquesa de Santos.' Severely criticized by the court---and for that matter in Europe as well---their passionate relationship stands as one of the great love affairs of the Americas. To overemphasize his bedroom behavior, however famous it might be, would be unfair. He engaged in a host of other activities as well. He could be a dashing horseman one hour and a serious composer of music the next. As a matter of fact, he became a friend of Rossini's. . . ." (A History of Brazil: 117)
Affair's benefits.
" . . .By the middle of 1823 the favorite had been installed in a house near the palace of Sao Cristovao. As her hold over the emperor strengthened, the demands she made on him grew. In April 1825 she was appointed a lady-in-waiting at court and in October of that year ennobled as viscountess of Santos. In February 1826 she accompanied the imperial couple on their visit to Bahia, during which time D. Leopoldina was forced to endure the constant proximity of her rival. Worse was to come. In May 1826 Pedro I formally acknowledged as his child D. Domitilia's daughter Isabel Maria, creating her duchess of Goias with the title of 'Royal Highness.' In October, D. Domitilia was raised to the rank of marchioness." (Citizen Emperor: 16)
Lady-in-waiting to her lover's empress-wife.
"Pedro tried ignoring his growing number of critics, but soon sought refuge in the home of Domitila de Castro a short walk from his own palace. It was there he fathered their first daughter, and their other children that followed. The emperor's reckless affair threatened to become a public scandal and he asked Leopoldina to appoint his mistress as one of her ladies in waiting. An appointment from a popular empress would place Domitila under a mantle of respectability and allow him to remain physically close to both women in his life. Leopoldina unhappily agreed. The Austrian ambassador noted, 'The most extreme self control prescribed the behavior of the Archduchess. Such clever behavior endured for her the greatest approval of her husband.' But the English ambassador condemned the emperor and his behavior. 'He is young, utterly non-instructed and inexperienced in business, impetuous and warm in character, seeking ardently . . . in the most violent and boisterous amusements.'" (Isabel Orleans-Braganca: the Brazilian Princess Who Freed the Slaves: 61)
Affair's effect on parties' families.
"Half a year later on his birthday, Pedro elevated his mistress to the ranks of Brazilian nobility, naming her the Viscondessa de Santos. The following year, she was appointed the Marquesa de Santos. Then in the Brazilian tradition of the time, he brought his 'natural' daughter to be raised in the same nursery as his children by Leopoldina. Brazil's empress was consumed with anger, but publicly remained silent. Privately she wrote, 'Icould bear anything, as I have in the past, except seeing the little one treated as my children's equal. I tremble with rage when I look at her and it is the greatest sacrifice on my part to receive her.'" (Isabel Orleans-Braganca: 61)
"Even before the war of succession began in Portugal, the Emperor's private life had become a major subject for serious criticism in Brazil, for he continued after his marriage the promiscuous habits of his early youth. It was his mistress Senhora Domitila de Castro Canto e Mello who caused the worst scandal at the Brazilian court. In May, 1842, she bore him a daughter, but apparently the Empress did not learn of this gross infidelity until a year later. At about this time Dom Pedro made Domitila the Empress's first lady of the bedchamber, and later Marchioness of Santos. In public, the Empress maintained clam dignity in the face of these insults, but she suffered intensely from them, and finally, on October 23, 1826, she told the Austrian minister at Rio de Janeiro of her unhappiness and asked him to notify her father. Subsequently, she had a violent quarrel with Dom Pedro over Domitila. But they seem to have become reconciled, and immediately afterwards, on November 24, the Emperor left for the south where frontier uprisings prompted by the war over the Cisplatine Province were in progress. Dona Leopoldina had been made Regent for the period of his absence, but she soon became ill, and grew rapidly worse. Miscarriage of a child followed, and puerperal infection developed. On December 11, 1826, she died in delirious horror over the presence of Domitila. At once there spread a rumour---which was probably false, but was generally accepted as fact by the Brazilians---that the Emperor had struck the beloved Dona Leopoldina during their last quarrel and that the injuries had caused her death. This added to the unpopularity of Dom Pedro, especially in the capital." (Don Pedro the Magnanimous, Second Emperor of Brazil: 13)
Natural offspring.
" . . . When Clemence began to show signs of pregnancy for which, everyone acknowledged, Dom Pedro was responsible, She and M. Saisset were packed off to France with a hefty indemnity from the emperor in December 1828. With Clemence gone and his hopes for the success of Barbacena's mission dwindling, Dom Pedro's thoughts turned increasingly to his old love, Domitila de Castro, the marchioness of Santos. He was constantly reminded of her by the presence of their daughter, the four-year-old duchess of Goias. When the imperial mistress had departed for Sao Paulo in August 1828, she had left the child and her sister, the infant duchess of Ceara, to be raised at the palace with the emperor's legitimate children. The duchess of Ceara died of meningitis in October 1828, her death contributed to the burden of woes that Dom Pedro carried into the next year. Finally, he sent for Domitila and she moved back into her mansion across the road from the main entrance to Boa Vista palace in April 1829." (Dom Pedro: the Struggle for Liberty in Brazil and Portugal, 1798-1834: 228)
Natural Offspring:
a. Pedro de Alcântara Brasileiro de Braganza (1825-1826)
b. Isabel Maria de Alcântara Brasileira de Braganza, Duquesa de Goyax (1824-1898), mar Ernst Joseph Johann Fischler, Count von Treuberg
c. Maria Isabel de Alcântara Brasileira de Braganza, Duquesa de Ceara (1827-1828)
d. Maria Isabel de Alcântara Brasileira de Braganza (1830-1896), mar Pedro Caldeira Brant, 1st Conde de Iguassu.
4) Ludovina Custodia.
an Actress
"Even Pedro's libertine habits, which included flamboyant affairs and mistresses, offended Brazilians, not so much because Brazilians were stuffy moralists---they were not---but rather because the peccadilloes were committed by Pedro. In one celebrated instance, Pedro's current mistress, an actress named Ludovina Custodia, was ravished between acts of a performance by the libidinous emperor, who could not resist the temptation. The no-doubt breathless actress was forced to bring her public performance to a close early." (A History of Modern Latin America: 82)
5) Maria Benedita Bonfim, Baronesa de Sorocaba.
Also known as Maria Benedita de Castro do Canto e Melo.
Natural offspring:
a. Rodrigo Delfim Pereira.
6) Maria del Carmen Garcia.
Uruguayan lady.
7) Maria Libania Lobo.
8) Noemi Thierry.
Also known as Noemie Valency.
Natural offspring:
a. Pedro.
"In his teen years, Dom Pedro was a handsome, daring young man who was known for his affairs with the wives of prominent officials.Although most of his romantic adventures were kept quiet, one threatened to undermine the royal family’s honor. Pedro’s affair with the young French ballerina, Noémi Thierry was the talk of Rio’s coffee houses. Despite the commotion, Dom João’s court ignored the rumors until it was found that Thierry was pregnant. While this event was unfolding, João was in the process of arranging a marriage for Pedro to a European princess. He feared that if news of Pedro’s latest affair crossed the Atlantic, powerful royal families, notably the Hapsburgs, would decline the offer. Pedro was persuaded to end his relationship with the French ballerina, although it was quite costly for the kingdom as Thierry received a large sum of money. In May of 1817, Pedro was married by proxy to Leopoldina of the House of Hapsburg." (The Napoleonic Wars and Brazilian Independence)
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| Pedro II of Brazil @Wikipedia |
(1825-1891)
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| Pedro II of Brazil |
"As if to crown his magnetic personality and remarkable mental gifts, he was of magnificent physique---six feet four inches tall and beautifully proportioned from head to foot. Everywhere he went, in Europe, the United States, and his own land, he was the center of admiring attention. The handsome giant of unbounded energy knew all the capitals of Europe first-hand, requiring an interpreter in none of them. Five o'clock in the morning was not too early for him to start a fourteen-hour day of sightseeing. Meeting a young Brazilian in the streets of London before dawn one morning, he exclaimed, 'Admirable youth, to be up so early!'" (World's Great Men of Color, Volume II, Volume 2 : 205)
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| Pedro II of Brazil @Wikipedia |
His lovers were:
1) Carolina Bregaro. (1836-1915).
Lover at start of 1860s.
Daughter of: Manuel Maria Bregaro & Celestine Clemence Amyot, a.k.a. Celestina Amiot.
Wife of: Rodrigo Delfim Pereira (1823-1891)
Brazilian diplomat.
Son of: Pedro I de Brasil & Maria Benedita de Castro Canto e Melo, Baronesa de Sorocaba.
" . . . Pedro II's second known involvement was with Carolina Bregaro, also born in 1826 and the niece of a confidential servant of Pedro I. At Lisbon in 1851, she married a Brazilian diplomat, Rodrigo Delfim Pereira, who was Pedro's illegitimate and unacknowledged half-brother by his father. The couple returned from Europe to Rio at the start of 1860s, and the affair with Pedro II probably began at this time, lasting for about a decade. The relationship came close to causing a public scandal. One night a police patrol, suspecting a break-in at Carolina Pereira's house, found Pedro II and a companion vainly trying to gain entry. On learning the . . ." (Citizen Emperor: 148)
2) Maria Eugenia Lopes de Paiva.
" . . . In search of this ideal Pedro became involved in the 1850s and 1860s with at least two women. The first, Maria Eugenia Lopes de Paiva, was a year younger than the emperor and the daughter of the viscount of Maranguape, a senator and former minister. She married twice and was known successively as 'Mariquinhas Guedes,' after her first spouse, who died in 1855, and 'Madame Jones,' after her second husband, whom she married in 1861. 'She was very beautiful---a look of enchanting sweetness,' Tobias Monteiro, the historian was told. 'The emperor's courtship of her was insistent.' . . . ." (Citizen Emperor: Pedro II and the Making of Brazil, 1825-1891: 148)
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
" . . . From written testimony it is evident that she had a superb figure -- womanly breasts and curves set within a slim, girlish figure: combined with her youthfulness. . . This made her devastatingly attractive enough for her to move rapidly out of common prostitution and into the realm of the kept woman. She had large, fiery eyes and sensuous lips, but there were many adverse comments on her face, particularly on the shape of her nose. It may be that she was thought to look too Jewish (and perhaps too openly sexy) for comfort, while actually having a type of beauty which many powerful men (including, during a profitable stay in London, the British Prime Minister, Lord Derby) found irresistible -- her social ascent is indisputable as, through her professional services, she accumulated wealth and, through brilliant marriages, became successively Marquise de Paiva, then Countess Henschel von Donnersmarch. Or it may be that . . . she was one of those exceptions, who, personable than than beautiful (though certainly not plain), captivated and exploited men through force of character. . . ." (A History of Human Beauty: 123)
References.
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