The early life of Pedro II of Brazil covers the period from his birth on 2 December 1825 until 18 July 1841, when he was crowned and consecrated. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Pedro was the youngest and only surviving male child of Dom Pedro I, first emperor of Brazil, and his wife Dona Leopoldina, archduchess of Austria. From birth, he was heir to his father's throne and was styled Prince Imperial. As member of the Brazilian Royalty, he held the honorific title "Dom".
Pedro II's mother died when he was one year old, and his father remarried, to Amélie of Leuchtenberg, a couple years later. Pedro II formed a strong bond with Empress Amélie, whom he considered to be his mother throughout the remainder of his life. When Pedro I abdicated on 7 April 1831 and departed to Europe with Amélie, Pedro II was left behind with his sisters and became the second emperor of Brazil. He was raised with simplicity but received an exceptional education towards shaping what Brazilians then considered an ideal ruler. The sudden and traumatic loss of his parents, coupled with a lonely and unhappy upbringing, greatly affected Pedro II and shaped his character.
When he ascended to the throne, Pedro II was only five years old. Until he came of age and would be able to exert his constitutional powers, a regency was created. It proved to be weak and to have little effective authority, which led the nation into anarchy, ravaged by political faction struggles and countless rebellions. Exploited as a tool by rival political factions in pursuit of their own interests, Pedro II was manipulated into accepting an early elevation to majority status on 22 July 1840 at age 14, thus putting an end to nine years of chaotic regency rule.
Heir to the throne
Birth
Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga was born following a childbirth that lasted for more than five hours at 2:30 a.m. on 2 December 1825. His name, as well as his father's, was a homage to St. Peter of Alcantara.
Through his father, Emperor Pedro I, he was a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza. This, in turn, was an illegitimate branch of the Capetian dynasty. He was thus grandson of João VI and nephew of Miguel I. His mother was the Archduchess Maria Leopoldina, daughter of Francis II, last Holy Roman Emperor. Through his mother he was a nephew of Empress Marie Louise (second wife of Napoleon) and first cousin of Emperors Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, as well as disputed Emperor Napoleon II of France. Among his ancestors were figures such as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King Louis XIV of France.
On the day of his birth Pedro was presented by Brigadier General Francisco de Lima e Silva, the Empress' (gentleman usher) to members of the Brazilian government assembled at the Paço de São Cristóvão (Palace of Saint Christopher), home of the Imperial family. He was only 47 centimeters tall and was considered a fragile and sickly child. He had inherited the epilepsy of the Spanish Bourbons, although this would completely disappear at adolescence. He was baptized a few days later on 9 December. His elder sister Maria was godmother, and his father was named as his godfather.
Having been born after the recognition of Brazilian independence, he was considered a foreigner under Portuguese law. However, his elder sister, having been born prior to independence, was able to ascend the throne of Portugal as Maria II upon the abdication of their father (Pedro I, who was also Pedro IV of Portugal) on 28 May 1826. As the only legitimate male child of Pedro I to survive infancy, he became heir to his father's Brazilian crown as Prince Imperial and was officially recognized as such on 6 August 1826.
Early years
Pedro I invited Dona Mariana de Verna Magalhães Coutinho (later Countess of Belmonte in 1844) to take the position of aia (supervisor) to his son. Mariana de Verna was a Portuguese widow who was considered a cultured, honorable and kindly woman. Pedro II called her "Dadama" as he did not pronounce the word "dame" correctly as a child. However, he would continue calling her in this way into adulthood, though out of affection and treating her as his surrogate mother. As was the custom of the time, he was not nursed by his mother. Instead, a Swiss immigrant from the Morro do Queimado colony ("Burnt Hill", now Nova Friburgo) by the name of Marie Catherine Equey was chosen as his wet nurse.
Empress Leopoldina died on 11 December 1826, days after the stillbirth of a male child, when Pedro was one year old. Pedro would have no memory of his mother; only what he was later told about her. Of his father, "he retained no strong images of him" in adulthood, that is, he recalled "no clear visual image" of Pedro I.
His father was married two and a half years later to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. Prince Pedro spent little time with his stepmother, who would ultimately leave the country two years later. Even so, they had an affectionate relationship and kept in contact with each other until her death in 1873. So strong was Amélie's influence over the young prince that he always considered her to be his mother, and as an adult "the ideal female, whom he ever sought, was dark-haired, vivacious, and intelligent, and noticeably older in years than he." Pedro I abdicated the Imperial crown on 7 April 1831, after a long conflict with the federalist liberals. He and Amélie immediately departed for Portugal to reclaim the crown of his daughter, which had been usurped by his brother Miguel I. Left behind, Prince Imperial Pedro thus became "Dom Pedro II, Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil".
The Regency
Accession
When the five-year-old Pedro awoke on 7 April 1831, beside him on the bed lay his father's imperial crown. Pedro I and his wife had already left Brazilian soil and boarded the British frigate HMS Warspite. Pedro II wrote a letter of farewell to his father aided by Mariana de Verna. On receipt of this, a tearful Pedro I composed a reply, calling the little boy "My beloved son, and my Emperor." His father and stepmother remained on board the Warspite another five days before leaving for Europe, but they did not see the young emperor during that period … or ever again. For the remainder of his life, Pedro I would become distressed upon his children's absences and fretted about their futures. Pedro II missed his father and stepmother (who had assumed his mother's role), and this may account for his later lack of any emotional display in public. In fact, the "sudden loss of his family was to haunt Pedro II throughout his life". Three of his sisters stayed behind in Brazil with Pedro II: Januária, Paula and Francisca.
Pedro II was acclaimed as the new Brazilian Emperor on 9 April. Bewildered by his parents' abandonment and frightened by the large crowds and thundering artillery salutes, he wept inconsolably as he was taken, with Mariana de Verna at his side, by carriage up to the City Palace. The frightened young Emperor was displayed along with his sisters at one of the windows of the palace. He stood atop a chair so that he could be seen by the assembled thousands and observe their acclamations. The Brazilians were touched by this "figure of a small orphan who would rule them one day." The entire ordeal, followed by the roar of saluting cannon, was so traumatic to the little emperor that it may account for his noted aversion to ceremonies as an adult.
His elevation as emperor ushered in a period of crisis, the most troublesome in Brazil's history. As Pedro II could not exert his constitutional prerogatives as Emperor (Executive and Moderating Power) until he reached majority, a regency was created. The first regency consisted of a triumvirate, and one of its members was the same Brigadier General Francisco de Lima e Silva who had presented the infant Pedro to the Government more than five years previously. Disputes between political factions resulted in an unstable, almost anarchical, regency. The Liberals who had ousted Pedro I soon split into two factions: moderate liberals (constitutional monarchists who would later split into the Liberal Party and Conservative Party) and Republicans (a small minority, but radical and highly rebellious). There were also the Restorationists who had been previously known as Bonifacians.
Several rebellions erupted during the regency. The first were the Rebellion of Santa Rita (1831), the Revolt of the Year of the Smoke (1833) and the Cabanada (or War of the Cabanos, 1832–34), which sought the return of Pedro I and which had the support of common people, former slaves, and slaves. The death of Pedro I on 24 September 1834 ended their hopes. The promulgation of the Additional Act in 1834, a constitutional amendment that gave higher administrative and political provincial decentralization, exacerbated conflicts between political parties, as whichever dominated the provinces would also gain control over the electoral and political system. Those parties which lost elections rebelled and tried to assume power by force. Rebellious factions, however, continued to uphold the Throne as a way of giving the appearance of legitimacy to their actions (that is, they were not in revolt against the monarchy per se). The Cabanagem (1835–40), the Sabinada (1837–38) and the Balaiada (1838–41) all followed this course, even though in some instances provinces attempted to secede and become independent republics (though ostensibly only so long as Pedro II was a minor). The exception was the Ragamuffin War, which began as yet another dispute between political factions in the province of Rio Grande do Sul but quickly evolved into a separatist rebellion financed by the Argentine dictator Don Manuel Rosas. But even in this case, the majority of the province's population, including the largest and most prosperous cities, remained loyal to the Empire.
Guardianship
Upon leaving the country, Emperor Pedro I selected three people to take charge of his children. The first was his friend José Bonifácio, whom he nominated as guardian, a position which was later confirmed by the National Assembly. The second was Mariana de Verna, who had occupied the position of aia (supervisor) from the birth of Pedro II. The third person was Rafael, an afro-Brazilian veteran of the Cisplatine War. Rafael was an employee in the Palace of São Cristóvão whom Pedro I deeply trusted and asked to look after his son—a charge which he carried out during the rest of his life. São Cristóvão was Pedro II's primary residence from infancy. At the end of 1832 Princess Paula became severely ill (likely with meningitis) and died three weeks later on 16 January 1833. Her loss reinforced the sense of abandonment already felt by Pedro II and his remaining two sisters.
José Bonifácio was dismissed from his position in December 1833. He "brooked no challenge to his omnipotence as guardian. He was quick to take umbrage with those who disputed his prerogatives or challenged his powers, and his dictatorial ways threatened entrenched interests at the court. In particular, he clashed with D. Mariana de Verna Magalhães, who, as first lady of the emperor's bedchamber and supported by numerous relatives, had for several years enjoyed considerable influence in court affairs." His relationship with the liberal-dominated regency had become unsustainable due to his leadership of the restorationist faction which sought to recall Pedro I and install him as regent until Pedro II attained majority. the National Assembly ratified Manuel Inácio de Andrade, Marquis of Itanhaém as his replacement.