Before Queen Victoria was regarded as the grandmother of Europe in the late 19th century because of the marriage of her children to the noblest houses that ruled the continent, there was the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa of Habsburg, whom we have already discussed in a previous post on this blog, whose children led her to be just as related as the British Queen to the rest of the world.
However, whilst historiography usually tends to look upon Portugal, Spain, England and France, not often it turns to other empires, especially the one that is not found amongst the north, but rather in the south. From a Portuguese colony turning to United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil was, at first, just the destiny where the royal family settled in 1808 with the aid of the British navy to escape the forces of Napoléon. But, with the independence declared by the Portuguese king's son, Pedro, in 1822, the history of Brazilian's royal family was very little discussed.
Pedro of Braganza later known as Emperor Pedro I of Brazil and, with the death of his father, briefly king of Portugal as Pedro IV, was married to the great-niece of Marie Antoinette, named Maria Leopoldina. It was thanks to this particular Habsburg that the independence of Brazil happened. Despite this, their marriage was not so happy, even though they managed to produce seven children, of whom only four survived childhood. Of these four, one was a boy who, after a political crisis, was later crowned as Emperor Pedro II.
Nevertheless, it is not this formidable emperor the subject of the discussion on this blog today but rather his wife, the barely mentioned at all Empress Teresa Cristina. Who was this woman? Why is she ignored in Italy's history or very little written in Brazil? Why is there almost no source about her to rely on? The first biography of hers is yet to be released and was written by a Italian historian. Just as much as there might be characters like her hidden throughout Europe's records of its diverses monarchies, one here is to be spoken today who ruled an empire found in the tropics.
For a start, Teresa Cristina was born in Naples on the 14th day of March of 1822, in the realm of Two-Siciles when her father was firstly duke of Calabria before rising as king Francis I, into the house of Bourbon-Two Siciles, an Italian brench of the Spanish house of Bourbon which descends directly from Louis XIV of France through his grandson Philippe V of Spain. Baptized as Theresa Cristina Maria Giuseppa Gaspare Baltassare Melchiore Gennara Francesca de Padova Donata Bonosa Andrea d'Avelino Rita Luitgarda Geltruda Venancia Taddea Spiridione Rocca Matilde, she was the the youngest daughter of 13 children of King Francis I and his consort, Maria Isabella of Spain, who, in turn, was a younger sister of Carlota Joaquina, Queen of Portugal and grandmother of Teresa's future husband.
About her childhood, it is said that, after the death of her father and the remarriage of her mother, Teresa was neglected by her and was raised in the court of her brother, where historians supposed to be a place of extreme religious, conservative and reactionary based on the formation of Teresa's timid character, as said below:
"It was long believed by historians that the Princess was raised in an ultra-conservative, intolerant atmosphere which resulted in a timid and unassertive character in public and an ability to be contented with very little materially or emotionally. Recent studies revealed a more complex character, who despite having respected the social norms of the era, was able to assert a limited independence due to her strongly opinionated personality as well as her interest in learning, sciences and culture."
By the time the Emperor of Brazil sought a wife, the brazilian embassy went to look for proper bride around the courts of Europe. However, the bad fame of Pedro II's father for being a man of many lovers was well known and it was feared the emperor could inherite such behaviour, so it was not until it was suggested a marriage of Teresa that the match would carry forward. A portrayal of Teresa, which was painted to beautify her common features, was thus ordered. Captured by the beauty seen, Pedro II soon accepted the suggestion of marrying Teresa. And so:
"A proxy wedding was held on 30 May 1843 in Naples, Pedro II being represented by his fiancee's brother Prince Leopold, Count of Syracuse. A small Brazilian fleet composed of a frigate and two corvettes departed for the Two Sicilies on 3 March 1843 to escort the new Empress of Brazil. She arrived on Rio de Janeiro on 3 September 1843. Pedro II immediately rushed to board the ship and greet his bride. Upon seeing this impetuous gesture, the crowds cheered and guns fired deafening salutes. Teresa Cristina fell in love with her new husband at first sight."
Yet, if it was pleasing for the Sicilian princess the sight of that Brazilian monarch with Habsburg features, the same cannot be said of him. It is reported that he did not find her as beautiful as the portrait he received, as we can perceive in the next paragraph:
"His first impressions were only of her physical flaws--and of how much her appearance differed from the portrait which had been sent to him. Physically, she had dark brown hair and brown eyes, was short, slightly overweight, walked with a pronounced limp and, while not ugly, neither was she pretty. According to historian Pedro Calmon, Teresa Cristina had no true limp, but her odd way of walking was instead the result of bowed legs causing her lean alternately right and left as she walked. Pedro II's high expectations were crushed, and he allowed his feelings of revulsion and rejection to show. After a short interval, he left the ship. Perceiving his disillusionment, she burst into tears, lamenting that "the emperor did not like me!"".
Despite the difficult beginning, however, with time they grew fond of each other. Pedro started to appreciate her good nature, despite the differences in their personalities, for upon she began to give him children, which apparently showed a certain effort of both parties in what can be said about their sexual lives (Teresa got pregnant four times each year that has passed: 1845, 1846, 1847 and 1848), she was thus involved in the routine of Pedro's life. They had four children: Afonso, Isabel, Leopoldina and Pedro, but only the girls survived childhood.
And although the relationship with the emperor had improved considerably, though never having been one of love and passion, Teresa was forced to deal with a rival that she feared she could have had her place taken. This rival was not scandalous as was the Marchioness of Santos, but was no less troublemaker in this kind of sense. Her name was Luisa de Barros, known for being the Countess of Barral. As we can observe here:
"Barral possessed all the traits that Pedro II most admired in a woman: she was charming, vivacious, elegant, sophisticated, educated and confident. Charged with the education and upbringing of the young princesses, Barral soon captured the hearts of both Pedro II and his eldest daughter, Isabel. Leopoldina was not won over and disliked the Countess. Althoug Barral "may not have escaped Pedro II's embraces", she "certainly avoided his bed". Nonetheless, (...) the Countess's increasing intimacy with her husband and daughter was painful and vexing to Teresa Cristina. Although she feigned ignorance of the situation, it did not pass unnoticed. She wrote in her diary that Barral "wished to make me tell her that I did not like her, but I did not say either yes or no". Historian Tobias Monteiro wrote that the Empress "could not disguise that she detested Barral"."
As in matters of personality, the Empress was well liked by all, and her friends were limited to her ladies-in-waiting, especially Dona Josefina da Fonseca Costa. But "the long-held view is that the Empress accepted the circumscribed role in which she found herself, and that her life, duty and purpose were tied to her position as the Emperor's wife. However, her personal letters reveal that she could be strongheaded, sometimes at odds with her husband, and had a life of her own--albeit somewhat restricted. In a letter written on 2 May 1845 she stated: "I wait for the moment when we will meet, good Pedro, and seek forgiveness for all that I did to you during these days". In another letter of 24 January 1851, she acknowledged her difficult temperament: "I am not irritated at you [Pedro II] and you should forgive me because this is my character"."
She did not, though, lack any traits of intelectuality. She loved music, arts and, above all, archeology. The Empress, for example, "began assembling a collection of archaelogical artifacts from her earliest days in Brazil, and she exchanged hundreds of others with her brother, King Don Ferdinando II (Ferdinand II)." She also "sponsored archaelogical studies in Italy and many of the artifacts- dated from the Etruscan civilization and the Ancient Roman period- found were brought to Brazil, (...) aided in recruiting Italian physicians, engineers, professors, pharmacists, nurses, artists, artisans and qualified workers with the goal of improving public education and public health in Brazil."
Teresa was also often the companion whenever the emperor travelled to Europe, especially after the death of Leopoldina from typhoid fever, where she went to Coburg to visit her grandchildren. However, upon visiting her homeland, which was annexed to the kingdom of Italy, an unification that happened in 1861, she wrote in 1872 that: "I do not know how to tell what was the impression I had upon seeing again, after 28 years, my fatherland and not find anyone for whom I cared." She much preferred her quiet life in Brazil, where she was found reading, sewing, working in charity, amongst other duties she performed as Empress.
In 1889, Brazil's politics suffered an important twist: leaded by an army, the militaries deposed the Emperor, forcing him and the royal family to flee in exile. Upon being told to have resignation after receiving the order to leave, she said: "I have it always, but how not to weep having to leave this land forever!". And "according to historian Roderick J.Barman, the "events of November 15, 1889, broke her emotionally and physically" for the Empress "loved Brazil and its inhabitants. She desired nothing more than to end her days there." Having been ill during almost the entire voyage across the Atlantic, Teresa Cristina and her family arrived in Lisbon, Portugal on 7 December."
In her last hours, she claimed that it was not sickness that was killing her, but being sent away from a home she had adopted and lived as if she was born in it. The 'quiet Empress', as she was remembered for, died then on 28 December that year, three days later after being told the Emperor and herself were forbidden to ever go back to Brazil.
The death of the woman who much did to improve the culture, the manifestation of the Brazilian arts and mostly with her concern she had displayed with public education, was grieved by all brazilians, even those who committed the coup d'état. Like her mother-in-law before her, Teresa Cristina left an impact in the empire of the tropics, something historiography should well approach in future. Furthemore, based on the little things we have found, we can state that she was much more than a woman tied by the social conventions of the 19th century, but one who used her 'silence' to work where others did not. It is only but fair to say that she was rewarded with a proper reburial in 1939 at the Cathedral of Petropolis, in Rio de Janeiro, where she can be found nowadays.
Sources:
http://alchetron.com/Teresa-Cristina-of-the-Two-Sicilies-1147436-W
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/events/openlearn-live-12th-july-2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Cristina_of_the_Two_Sicilies
