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Early life (1825–40) .svg){kind=small} |
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| Pedro II | |||||
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 Pedro II at age 9, 1835 | |||||
| Emperor of Brazil | |||||
| Reign | 7 April 1831 – 15 November 1889 | ||||
| Coronation | 18 July 1841 Imperial Chapel | ||||
| Predecessor | Pedro I | ||||
| Successor | Monarchy abolished | ||||
| Regents | See list (1831–1840) | ||||
| Prime ministers | See list | ||||
| Head of the Imperial House of Brazil | |||||
| Tenure | 7 April 1831 – 5 December 1891 | ||||
| Predecessor | Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil | ||||
| Successor | Isabel, Princess Imperial | ||||
| Born | 2 December 1825 Palace of São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil | ||||
| Died | 5 December 1891 (aged 66) Paris, France | ||||
| Burial | 5 December 1939 | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue Detail | |||||
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| House | Braganza | ||||
| Father | Pedro I of Brazil | ||||
| Mother | Maria Leopoldina of Austria | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
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".[1]
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.
- ^ Barman 1999, p. 424.