Mary I of Portugal
Mary I Frances or Maria I Francisca , ,
the Piteous - was the daughter of King
Joseph I of Portugal, the eldest of four daughters. Her mother Marianne Victoria of Borbn was daughter of
Philip V of Spain and
Elizabeth Farnese.
At the day of her birth, her grandfather, king
John V of Portugal, created her the
Princess of Beira.
When her father, Joseph I, succeeded to the throne in 1750, Maria was declared his heiress and the next monarch. She was given the crown-princely title Princess of Brazil, but not the duchy of Bragana.
Encyclopedia
Mary I Frances or
Maria I Francisca , ,
the Piteous - was the daughter of King
Joseph I of Portugal, the eldest of four daughters. Her mother Marianne Victoria of Borbón was daughter of
Philip V of Spain and
Elizabeth Farnese.
At the day of her birth, her grandfather, king
John V of Portugal, created her the
Princess of Beira.
When her father, Joseph I, succeeded to the throne in 1750, Maria was declared his heiress and the next monarch. She was given the crown-princely title Princess of Brazil, but not the duchy of Bragança.
She married her father's younger brother,
Peter III, on June 6, 1760. In 1777, she became the first
Queen regnant of the
United Kingdom of Portugal and
Algarves, and the 26th
Portuguese monarch.
Her first act as queen was to dismiss the unpopular
prime minister, the
Marquis of Pombal, following the brutal treatment given to the Távoras in the
Tavora affair. Noteworthy events of this period were Portugal's membership of the League of Armed Neutrality and the 1781 cession of
Delagoa Bay from
Austria to Portugal. In 1801 the Spanish dictator
Manuel de Godoy invaded Portugal with backing from
Napoleon, but was forced to abandon the campaign in the same year. However the Treaty of Badajoz on June 6 1801 forced Portugal to cede
Olivenza and part of
Guyana to Spain.
Queen Mary suffered from religious mania and
melancholia. It made her incapable of handling state affairs after 1799 and so her son
Prince John became regent. The refusal of his government to join the Continental Blockade of Britain culminated in the 1807 Franco-Spanish invasion led by Marshal Junot. The
Braganza dynasty fled to
Brazil on November 13, 1807, and Junot was appointed governor of the kingdom pending Napoleon's decision on its ultimate fate. On August 1, 1808, the
British General
Arthur Wellesley landed a British army in Lisbon and thus commenced the
Peninsular War. Wellesley's initial victory over Junot at Vimeiro was wiped out by his superiors in the
Convention of Cintra . Nevertheless, Wellesley returned to Portugal on April 22, 1809 to recommence the campaign. Portuguese forces under British command distinguished themselves in the defence of the
lines of Torres Vedras and in the subsequent invasion of Spain and France. In 1815, the regency government elevated Brazil as kingdom, and Maria I was proclaimed the Queen of the
United Kingdom of Portugal,
Brazil and
Algarves. When Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815, Maria and her family were still in Brazil. The aged Queen died at
Rio de Janeiro in 1816 and the Prince Regent succeeded her as King John VI of Portugal and Brazil.
Ancestors
Marriages and descendants
Maria married her uncle,
Prince Peter of Portugal, who when she was crowned
Queen regnant automatically became King consort Peter III of Portugal, because a child had already been born from the marriage.
See also: List of Portuguese monarchs
