Dom Pedro I | Biography, Emperor of Brazil, Quotes & Death

March 3, 2021May 15, 2020 by Santosh Bhunia

Dom Pedro I is also known as Peter I (born on October 12, 1798, in Queluz, died on September 24, 1834, in Queluz) was the Emperor of Brazil from 1822 to 1831 and King of Portugal under the name Peter IV in 1826. He came from the Braganza house.

Dom Pedro I full name was, in Portuguese : Pedro de Alcântara Francisco António João Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim José Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim .

Quick Facts: Dom Pedro I

Known for: Declaration of independence of Brazil and to serve as emperor
Also known as: Pedro de Alcântara Francisco António João Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim José Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim, The Liberator, the King Soldier
Born October 12, 1798, at the Queluz Royal Palace, near Lisbon, Portugal
Parents: Prince Dom John (later King Dom John VI), Carlota Joaquina of Spain
Died: September 24, 1834, at Queluz Palace, Lisbon, Portugal
Prizes and distinctions: multiple Brazilian and Portuguese titles and honors
Spouse (s): Maria Leopoldina, Amelie de Leuchtenberg
Children: Maria (later Queen Dona Maria II of Portugal), Miguel, João, Januaria, Paula, Francisca, Pedro
Notable Quote: “It grieves me to see my fellow man giving a man proper tributes to the deity, I know my blood is the same color as that of blacks. “

The Early Life of Dom Pedro I

Dom Pedro I or Peter I was born on October 12, 1798, at 8:00 a.m. in the Royal Palace of Queluz near Lisbon. He was given the honorary title “Dom” (Lord) from his birth. Through his father, Prince Johann (later King John VI), Peter I was a member of the House of Braganza (Portuguese: Bragança) and a grandson of King Peter III and Queen Maria I from Portugal, who were both uncle and niece as well as husband and wife.

His mother, Carlota Joaquina of Spain, was the daughter of King Charles IV of Spain. His parents had a very unhappy marriage. Carlota Joaquina was an ambitious woman who always tried to promote Spanish interests, even if they were detrimental to Portugal.

She was reportedly unfaithful to her husband and went so far as to plan to overthrow her husband with dissatisfied Portuguese nobles. As the second oldest son and fourth child, Pedro has declared heir to his father and prince of Beira due to the death of his older brother Francisco Antonio in 1801.

After Queen Mary was I. declared in 1793 for the terminally insane, took her son Prince John as regent government business on behalf of his mother. Until 1802, Pedro’s parents alienated more and more, so Johann in Mafra National Palace lived and Carlota Joaquina in Ramalhao Palace.

Pedro and his siblings, on the other hand, resided with their grandmother Maria I in the Queluz Palace, far from their parents, who they only saw in Queluz on state occasions.

Flight to Brazil

At the end of November 1807, the royal family fled to Brazil with nine-year-old Peter because a French invasion army sent by Napoleon was on the way to Lisbon. Napoleon wanted to punish the country for refusing to take part in the continental ban against England.

During the long and arduous journey, Peter Vergils read Aeneis and talked to the ship’s crew to acquire navigation skills. Pedro and his family arrived in Rio de Janeiro in March 1808, the capital of the largest and richest colony in Portugal, which was named the new residence.

Johann should Portugal until 1832, ie after a 24-year absence, re-enter. In Brazil, Peter, his younger brother Michael and his father settled after a short stay in the royal palace or St. Christopher’s Palace.

Although Dom Pedro I never had a very close relationship with his father, he loved him and disapproved of the constant humiliation that Johann had suffered from Charlotte Joachime’s extramarital affairs. In adulthood, Peter publicly titled his mother, for whom he only had feelings of contempt, as a “bitch”.

These early experiences of betrayal, cold, and neglect greatly influenced the formation of Peter’s character.

Independence of Brazil

The people of Brazil, who had had the privilege of being the seat of royal authority, did not much return to the status of the colony. Pedro followed the advice of his father, and also that of his wife, who wrote to him: “The apple is ripe: choose now, or it will rot. “Pedro declared independence dramatically on September 7, 1822, in the city of São Paulo. He was crowned Emperor of Brazil on December 1, 1822.

Independence was achieved with very little bloodshed: Portuguese loyalists fought in isolated places, but in 1824 the whole of Brazil was unified with relatively little violence. In this regard, Scottish Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane was invaluable: with a very small Brazilian fleet, he drove with a combination of muscle and bluffing the Portuguese on Brazilian waters.

Pedro was skillful in dealing with rebels and dissidents. In 1824 Brazil had its own constitution and its independence was recognized by the United States and the Great -Brittany. On August 25, 1825, Portugal officially recognized the independence of Brazil; it helped that João was the king of Portugal at the time.

A Troubled Rule

After independence, the lack of attention to his studies of Pedro returned to haunt him. A series of crises made life difficult for the young sovereign. Cisplatina, one of the southern provinces of Brazil, eliminated with the encouragement of Argentina: it will eventually become Uruguay.

He had a highly publicized quarrel with José Bonifácio de Andrada, his minister, and chief mentor. In 1826 his wife Leopoldina died, apparently of an infection caused after a miscarriage. The people of Brazil loved and lost the respect of Pedro because of his well-known banter; Some even said that she died because he hit her.

Back in Portugal, his father died in 1826, and pressure mounted on Pedro to go to Portugal to claim the throne. Pedro’s plan was to marry his daughter Maria to his brother Miguel, who would make Maria queen and regent Miguel. The plan failed when Miguel took power in 1828.

Abdication of Dom Pedro I of Brazil

Dom Pedro I began to seek remarriage, but the word of his ill-treatment of the respected Leopoldina preceded him and most European princesses wanted nothing to do with him. He ended up settling on Amelie of Leuchtenberg. He treated Amelie well, even banning his longtime mistress, Domitila de Castro.

Although he was liberal enough for his time, he favored the abolition of slavery and supported the Constitution – he fought endlessly with the Liberal Party of Brazil. In March 1831, Brazilian and Portuguese liberals fought royalists on the streets.

He responded by pulling out his liberal cabinet, leading to outrage and calling on him to abdicate. He did on April 7, abdicate in favor of his son Pedro, then 5 years old. Brazil would be governed by regents until Pedro II reached maturity.

Return to Europe

Dom Pedro I had great problems in Portugal. His brother Miguel had usurped the throne and had a firm hold on power. Pedro spent time in France and in Great Britain; both countries were supportive, but unwilling to get involved in a Portuguese civil war.

He entered the city of Porto in July 1832 with an army made up of liberals, Brazilians, and foreign volunteers. Things went wrong at first because King Manuel’s army was much larger and besieged Pedro in Porto for more than a year.

Pedro then sent some of his forces to attack southern Portugal, a surprise move that worked. Lisbon fell in July 1833. Just as it looked like the war was over, Portugal drew itself into the First Carlist War in neighboring Spain; Aid from Pedro kept Queen Isabella II of Spain in power.

Dom Pedro I Death and Burial

Dom Pedro I enjoy excellent health throughout his life. However, the civil war undermined his robust constitution and he contracted tuberculosis in Portugal. In 1834, his state of health was already very worrying and he was confined to bed at the palace of Queluz from September 10.

Before dying, he wrote a letter to the Brazilians asking them to gradually abolish slavery. In this document, he warns his people: “Slavery is an evil and an attack on the rights and dignity of the human race, but its consequences are less harmful to those who suffer in captivity than to the Nation whose laws allow slavery. It is cancer that devours its morality”.

After a long and painful illness, he died on September 24, 1834. At his request, his heart is placed in the Lapa church in Porto while his body is placed in the Royal Pantheon of Braganza of the Monastery of Saint Vincent de Fora in Lisbon.

The announcement of the death of the ex-emperor arrives in Rio de Janeiro on November 20, but his children are not informed until December 2. Andrada, who was no longer the tutor of the imperial children at that date, then wrote to Peter II and his sisters Januaria and Francoise: “Dom Pedor I is not dead. Only ordinary men die, not heroes”.

In 1972, on the 150th anniversary of Brazilian independence, Pedro’s mortal remains (except his heart) were transferred to Brazil as he had requested in his will. An official ceremony is then organized in São Paulo and the remains of the emperor are placed in the monument of Ipiranga, where they rest today alongside those of the empresses Marie-Leopoldine and Amelie

Dom Pedro I Quotes

I swore to the Constitution, but even if I didn’t swear to it, it would be a second religion for me.