Teresa Cristina Empress Consort of Brazil – Bringing a Touch of History to the Young Generation
According to historian Aniello Angelo Avella, the Empress, nicknamed “Mother of the Brazilians” by her contemporaries, is “completely unknown in Italy and little studied in Brazil.” Unfortunately, Teresa Cristina has been given a less prominent place in Brazil’s history.
Dona Teresa Cristina, nicknamed “the Mother of the Brazilians,” was the Empress of Brazil as the consort of Emperor Dom Pedro II from their marriage on May 30, 1843, until November 15, 1889, when the monarchy was abolished.
Dona Teresa Cristina was born a princess of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in present-day southern Italy on March 14, 1822. She was the daughter of King Don Francesco I (Francis I) of the Italian branch of the House of Bourbon and his wife, Maria Isabel (Maria Isabella).
Despite being royalty, Dona Teresa had the ability to be content with very little materially or emotionally. Due to her humble and compassionate nature, historians long believed that the Princess was raised in an ultra-conservative, intolerant atmosphere. However, despite respecting the norms of the era, she was able to assert limited independence due to her interest in learning, sciences, and culture. Recent studies have revealed a more complex character. She was also known to have a strongly opinionated personality.
Although a bond based on family, mutual respect, and fondness developed, unfortunately, the marriage between Dona Teresa Cristina and Dom Pedro II didn’t seem to be passionately romantic, due to repeated rumours of his extramarital affairs, the most profound of which was with her daughter’s governess, Luísa de Barros, Countess of Barral. Luísa was Brazilian-born and the wife of a French nobleman.
The Empress had four children with her husband, Dom Pedro II:
- Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil
- Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil
- Leopoldina, Princess Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Pedro Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil
Dona Teresa Cristina was greatly loved by her subjects during her lifetime and after her passing. Even the republicans who overthrew the Empire respected her. Despite having had no direct impact on Brazil’s political history, Teresa Cristina is well regarded by historians not only for her character and irreproachable behaviour but also for her sponsorship of Brazilian culture.
Dona Teresa Cristina had intellectual interests, and she developed a passion for the arts, music, and— in particular—archaeology. She assembled a collection of archaeological artifacts from her earliest days in Brazil. She exchanged hundreds of collections with her brother, King Don Ferdinando II (Ferdinand II). Through her sponsorship and support, archaeological studies in Italy, as well as many artifacts dating back to the Etruscan civilization and the Ancient Roman period, were brought to Brazil. The Empress’s role was fundamental in aiding the recruitment of Italian physicians, engineers, professors, pharmacists, nurses, artists, artisans, and qualified workers with the goal of improving public education and public health in Brazil. Moreover, historian Eugenia Zerbini claims that Brazil has the largest classical archaeological collection in Latin America thanks to the Empress, Dona Teresa Cristina.
After a coup d’état staged by a clique of army officers in 1889, the imperial family was sent into exile. Being expelled from her beloved adopted land negatively impacted Teresa Cristina’s spirit and health. She died of respiratory failure leading to cardiac arrest on December 28, 1889, in Porto, Portugal, exactly a month after the monarchy’s collapse. On December 5, 1939, she was buried at St. Peter of Alcantara Cathedral in Petrópolis, Brazil.
