page_title: Early life of Pedro II of Brazil
section_title: Guardianship
hierarchical_section_title: Early life of Pedro II of Brazil / The Regency / Guardianship
caption_attribution_description: English: Palace of Sao Cristovao
context_page_description: 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, the Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II 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.
context_section_description: 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.
  Itanhaém was chosen for the post because he was considered submissive and easily manipulated. The new guardian proved to be a man of mediocre intelligence, though honest. He was wise enough to provide the young Emperor with an extraordinary education. The guardian had a "great influence on the democratic character and thought of Pedro II." The professors who were already teaching Pedro II and his sisters under José Bonifácio were retained by the new guardian. The exception was Friar Pedro de Santa Mariana who was nominated to occupy the place of aio (supervisor) formerly held by Friar Antonio de Arrábida (who had tutored Pedro I as a child). General supervision of Pedro II's education fell to Friar Pedro Mariana, and he took personal charge of his Latin, religion and mathematics studies. He was one of the few people outside his family for whom Pedro II held great affection.
  Among the precepts which Itanhaém and Friar Pedro Mariana sought to instill in Pedro II were: that all human beings should be considered as his equals, that he should seek to be impartial and just, that public servants and ministers of state should be carefully watched, that he should not have favourites, and that his concern should always be for the public welfare. Both had as an objective "to make a human, honest, constitutional, pacifist, tolerant, wise and just monarch. That is, a perfect ruler, dedicated integrally to his obligations, above political passions and private interests." Later, in January 1839, Itanhaém called Cândido José de Araújo Viana (later Marquis of Sapucaí) to be instructor of Pedro II's education, and he and the emperor also got on very well.
caption: The Palace of São Cristóvão in 1817. Another tower was added when Pedro II was a child and the building suffered several modifications through the years.
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