Pedro II of Brazil in the context of "Empress of Brazil"

The Empire of Brazil (Portuguese: Império do Brasil) was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Pedro I and his son Pedro II. A colony of the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil became the seat of the Portuguese Empire in 1808, when the Portuguese Prince regent, later King Dom John VI, fled from Napoleon's invasion of Portugal and established himself and his government in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. John VI later returned to Portugal, leaving his eldest son and heir-apparent, Pedro, to rule the Kingdom of Brazil as regent. On 7 September 1822, Pedro declared the independence of Brazil and, after waging a successful war against his father's kingdom, was acclaimed on 12 October as Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil. The new country was huge, sparsely populated, and ethnically diverse.

Unlike most of the neighboring Hispanic American republics, Brazil had political stability, vibrant economic growth, constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech, and respect for civil rights of its subjects, albeit with legal restrictions on women and slaves, the latter regarded as property and not citizens. The Empire's bicameral parliament was elected under comparatively democratic methods for the era, as were the provincial and local legislatures. This led to a long ideological conflict between Pedro I and a sizable parliamentary faction over the role of the monarch in the government. He also had to face other obstacles. The unsuccessful Cisplatine War against the neighboring United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1828 led to the secession of the province of Cisplatina (later to become Uruguay). In 1826, despite his role in Brazilian independence, he became the king of Portugal; he abdicated the Portuguese throne in favor of Maria, his eldest daughter. Two years later, she was usurped by Pedro I's younger brother Miguel. Unable to deal with both Brazilian and Portuguese affairs, Pedro I abdicated his Brazilian throne on 7 April 1831 and immediately departed for Europe to restore his daughter to the Portuguese throne.

In a monarchy, a regent (from Latin regens 'ruling, governing') is a person appointed to execute the office of the monarch temporarily. Regencies may arise for a number of reasons, including the monarch being a minor, ill, absent from the country, or otherwise unavailable. A regent may also be appointed in cases where the throne is vacant, or the identity of the legitimate monarch is disputed.

The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency. A regent or regency council may be formed as an ad hoc measure, or there may be a formal and regular appointment process. Regent in some countries has also been used as a formal title granted to a monarch's most trusted advisor or personal assistant. If the regent is holding the position due to their being in the line of succession, the compound term prince regent is often used; if the regent of a minor is their mother, and she is wife or widow of a king, she would be referred to as queen regent.

Mourning is the emotional expression in response to a major life event causing grief, especially loss. It typically occurs as a result of someone's death, especially a loved one.

The word describes a complex of behaviors in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate, the expression of which varies by culture. Wearing black clothes is one practice followed in many countries, though other forms of dress are seen. Those most affected by the loss of a loved one often observe a period of mourning, marked by withdrawal from social events and quiet, respectful behavior in some cultures, though in others mourning is a collective experience. People may follow religious traditions for such occasions.

A coregency is the situation where a monarchical position (such as prince, princess, king, queen, emperor or empress), normally held by only a single person, is held by two or more. It is distinct from diarchies or duumvirates (such as Andorra, ancient Sparta and Rome), where monarchical power is permanently divided between two rulers; and also from regencies, where a person, who is not legally monarch themselves, exercises monarchical power on the behalf of reigning monarch who is absent or unable to rule (for example due to illness or young age).

Confederados (Portuguese pronunciation: [kõfedeˈɾadus]) is the Brazilian name for Confederate expatriates, all white Southerners who fled the Southern United States during Reconstruction, and their Brazilian descendants. They were enticed to Brazil by offers of cheap land from Emperor Dom Pedro II, who had hoped to gain expertise in cotton farming. The regime in Brazil had a number of features that attracted the Confederados, namely the continued legality of slavery, but also political decentralization and a relatively high commitment to free trade.

It is estimated that up to 20,000 American Confederates immigrated to the Empire of Brazil from the Southern United States after the American Civil War. Initially, most settled in the current state of São Paulo, where they founded the city of Americana, which was once part of the neighboring city of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste. The descendants of other Confederados would later be found throughout Brazil.

The abdication of emperor Pedro I of Brazil took place on 7 April 1831 in favor of his son Pedro II. The act marked the end of the so-called First Reign and the beginning of the regency period in Brazil.

The monarchs of Brazil (Portuguese: monarcas do Brasil) were the imperial heads of state and hereditary rulers of Brazil from the House of Braganza that reigned from the creation of the Brazilian monarchy in 1815 as a constituent kingdom of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves until the republican coup d'état that overthrew the Empire of Brazil in 1889.

The coast of the territory which would become known as Brazil was first explored by Portuguese navigators on 22 April 1500. This territory was subsequently colonized by the Portuguese crown. Since the transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil in 1808, colonial rule had de facto ended. On 16 December 1815, Prince Regent John, the future king John VI, raised Brazil to the status of a kingdom, thus making his mother, Maria I, the reigning queen, the first monarch of Brazil. The next year, 20 March 1816, John succeeded his mother as king of the united Luso-Brazilian monarchy. Having proclaimed independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from Portugal in 1822, Pedro I, son of John VI, was acclaimed the first emperor of Brazil on 12 October 1822. He was later succeeded on 7 April 1831 by his son Pedro II, deposed along with the 74-years-old monarchy on 15 November 1889 in a bloodless and unpopular military coup d'état.

The Imperial House of Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese: Casa Imperial Brasileira) is a Brazilian dynasty of Portuguese origin, a branch of the House of Braganza, that ruled the Brazilian Empire from 1822 to 1889, from the time when the then Prince Royal Dom Pedro of Braganza (later known as Emperor Pedro I of Brazil) declared Brazil's independence, until Dom Pedro II was deposed during the military coup that led to the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889.

The members of the family are dynastic descendants of Emperor Pedro I. Claimants to headship of the post-monarchic Brazilian Imperial legacy descend from Emperor Pedro II, including the senior agnates of two branches of the House of Orléans-Braganza; the so-called Petrópolis and Vassouras lines. Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza (born 1945) heads the Petrópolis line, while the Vassouras branch is led by his second cousin, Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza.

The regency period is how the decade from 1831 to 1840 became known in the history of the Empire of Brazil, between the abdication of Emperor Pedro I, on 7 April 1831, and the declaration of majority of Pedro II, who was legally declared of age by the Senate at the age of 14 on 23 July 1840.

Born on 2 December 1825, Pedro II was, at the time of his father's abdication, 5 years and 4 months old, and therefore could not assume the government which, by law, would be headed by a regency made up of three representatives. During this decade there were four consecutive regencies: the Provisional Triumviral, the Permanent Triumviral, the una (sole) of Diogo Antônio Feijó and the una of Pedro de Araújo Lima.

Dona Isabel (29 July 1846 – 14 November 1921), called "the Redemptress", was the Princess Imperial (heiress presumptive to the throne) of the Empire of Brazil and the Empire's regent on three occasions. Born in Rio de Janeiro as the eldest daughter of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and Empress Teresa Cristina, she was a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza (Portuguese: Bragança). After the deaths of her two brothers in infancy, she was recognized as her father's heiress presumptive. She married a French prince, Gaston, Count of Eu, in an arranged marriage and they had three sons.

During her father's absences abroad, Isabel acted as regent. In her third and final regency, she actively promoted and ultimately signed a law, named Lei Áurea or the Golden Law, emancipating all slaves in Brazil. Even though the action was broadly popular, there was strong opposition to her succession to the throne. Her gender, strong Catholic faith, and marriage to a foreigner were seen as impediments against her, and the emancipation of the slaves generated dislike among powerful planters. In 1889, her family was deposed in a military coup, and she spent the last 30 years of her life in exile in France.

Prince Peter August of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza (Portuguese: Pedro Augusto Luís Maria Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 19 March 1866 – 6 July 1934), known in Brazil as Dom Pedro Augusto, was a prince of the Empire of Brazil and of the Saxe-Coburg and Braganza branch of the Brazilian Imperial Family. The favorite grandson of Emperor Pedro II, he was known as "the Preferred" (Portuguese: O Preferido).

Princess Leopoldina of Brazil (Leopoldina Teresa Francisca Carolina Miguela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga; 13 July 1847 – 7 February 1871) was the daughter of Emperor Pedro II and Empress Teresa Cristina. She shared the first name of her paternal grandmother, Empress Maria Leopoldina of Brazil.

A Princess of Brazil from birth, Dona Leopoldina renounced her titles upon her marriage to Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, taking the title of Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duchess of Saxony.

Prince August Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Braganza (6 December 1867 – 11 October 1922), known in Brazil as Dom Augusto Leopoldo, was a prince of the Empire of Brazil and of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. He was the second of four sons born to German Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Leopoldina of Brazil.

The second grandson of the Emperor Pedro II, the prince was, for some years included among the presumptive heirs to the Imperial Crown of Brazil. Their descendants would form the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Imperial House of Brazil.

A collar, also known as collar of an order, is an ornate chain, often made of gold and enamel, and set with precious stones, which is worn about the neck as a symbol of membership in various chivalric orders. It is a particular form of the livery collar, the grandest form of the widespread phenomenon of livery in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. Orders which have several grades often reserve the collar for the highest grade (usually called the Grand Cross). The links of the chain are usually composed of symbols of the order, and the badge (also called "decoration", "cross" or "jewel") of the order normally hangs down in front. Sometimes the badge is referred to by what is depicted on it; for instance, the badge that hangs from the chain of the Order of the Garter is referred to as "the George".

Bento Gonçalves da Silva (23 September 1788 – 18 July 1847) was a Brazilian army officer, politician and rebel leader of the Riograndense Republic. He was the first President of the Riograndense Republic and, by all accounts, one of the most prominent figures in the history of Rio Grande do Sul.

Although a staunch monarchist, Gonçalves led the rebel forces in the Ragamuffin War. Radicals within the rebel ranks forced the rebellion to become republican, which Gonçalves opposed. Still, even though he fought against the Empire of Brazil, Gonçalves and his troops celebrated the birthday of the young emperor Pedro II of Brazil. After the conflict ended with the victory of the Empire, Gonçalves paid his respect to Pedro II by kissing his hand during the latter's trip to Rio Grande do Sul in December 1845.