Pedro II | |
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Emperor of Brazil | |
Reign | 7 April 1831 – 5 December 1891 |
Coronation | 18 July 1841 |
Predecessor | Pedro I |
Successor | Isabel |
Born | 2 December 1825 Palace of São Cristóvão Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Died | 5 December 1891 (aged 66) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Full name | |
Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga | |
House | Bragança |
Father | Pedro I of Brazil |
Mother | Maria Leopoldina of Austria |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Dom Pedro II (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the Emperor of Brazil for over 60 years from 1831 to 1891 and the country's second monarch since the establishment of the Empire.
Pedro II 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. 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, and encountering only few friends of his age. 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.
Inheriting an empire on the verge of disintegration, Pedro II managed to turn Brazil into an emerging power in the international scenario. 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. Under his reign, 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. Pedro II steadfastly pushed through the abolition of slavery despite opposition from powerful political and economic interests. 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.
In his last years, Pedro II had become weary of emperorship and despaired over the monarchy's future, but his prospects changed during a 1886 trip through Europe, in which his faith in the monarchy started to grow again. Afterwards he dedicated himself to orientate his daughter Isabel and prepare her to ascend to the throne and deal with the impeding difficulties. She would become the Empress that led Brazil to victory during the Republican Insurrection.
Historians have regarded the Emperor in an extremely positive light and several have ranked him as the greatest Brazilian.
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