Isabel, Princess of Brazil (1846–1921)

Isabel, Princess of Brazil (b. 29 July 1846; d. 14 November 1921), heiress to the Brazilian throne. Isabel was the daughter of Pedro II and Empress Teresa Cristina Maria of Bourbon. Married to Gastão of Orléans, count d'Eu, on 15 October 1864, she assumed the regency in her father's absence in 1871, 1876, and 1887. Strong-willed, she displayed an uncommon ability to govern during her first regency. In Brazilian history her name is associated with emancipation and the abolition of slavery. In 1871 she signed the Law of the Free Womb (Free Birth Law), which freed newborn slaves. Her major achievement was the Lei Aurea of 13 May 1888, which abolished slavery. Her experience in government, combined with her abolitionist views, led Princess Isabel to evaluate correctly the chaotic political climate created by the abolitionist movement in the first months of 1888 and to decide that the crown had to intervene directly to end slavery. She disregarded some of the unwritten rules followed by her father for decades when she forced the resignation of the Cotegipe cabinet, selected the head of the cabinet that was to abolish slavery, and did not seek the advice of the plenary Council of State, the emperor's advisory body.

Despite her achievements, Princess Isabel was plagued by a degree of unpopularity caused by several factors. Her marriage to a Frenchman led to suspicion of foreign influence and dominance, and her husband's unpopularity had a ripple effect of its own. Her Catholicism was equally unpopular, for fear of papal influence in the affairs of state. Above all, the fact that she was a woman made her in the view of many unsuitable to govern. The adulation that surrounded her after she abolished slavery was ephemeral. With the fall of the monarchy on 15 November 1889, she was exiled with her family and spent the last part of her life in France.

See alsoSlavery: Abolition .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hermes Vieira, Princesa Isabel, uma vida de luzes e sombras (1990).

Additional Bibliography

Barman, Roderick J. Princess Isabel of Brazil: Gender and Power in the Nineteenth Century. Wilmington, DE: SR Books, 2002.

Daibert Junior, Robert. Isabel, a "redentora" dos escravos: Uma historia da princesa entre olhares negros e broncos, 1846–1988. Bauru, SP, Brasil: FAPESP, Editora da Uni-versidade do Sagrado Coração, 2004.

                                      Lydia M. Garner