Luísa Margarida de Barros Portugal (13 April 1816 – January 1891), later Countess of Barral, was a Brazilian noble and courtier, preceptor of Brazilian princesses

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

and

Leopoldina Leopoldina may refer to: * Colônia Leopoldina, a Brazilian municipality in the state of Alagoa * Leopoldina, Minas Gerais, a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais * Maria Leopoldina of Austria (1797-1826), consort of emperor Pedro I ...

, rumored to be the major love interest of

Pedro II of Brazil Don (honorific), Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimity, Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the List of monarchs of Brazil, second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. ...

and later part of

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

of France's court.

Life

Early life

She was the daughter of the Brazilian diplomat and noble

Domingos Borges de Barros Domingos is the name of: People Surnamed * Afonso Domingos * André Domingos * Antonio Domingos * Bárbara Domingos * Camilo Domingos * Ederson Bruno Domingos * Garcia Domingos * Guilherme Afif Domingos * Jônatas Domingos * Laila Domi ...

, the viscount of Pedra Branca,

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

of the first reign, and his wife Maria do Carmo Gouveia Portugal, descendant of traditional families of

New Christians New Christian ( es, Cristiano Nuevo; pt, Cristão-Novo; ca, Cristià Nou; lad, Christiano Muevo) was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction in the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire. The term was used from the 15th century ...

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

and the last

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

before

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, Dom Abraham Senior, according to

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh ...

Francisco Antonio Doria, in the book "Herdeiros do Poder" and the work "The Occult Rabbi - the saga of a family by Jewish origin - by Carmen Nogueira". She spent her upbringing divided between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Luísa then married Eugène de Barral, Count of Barral, distant relative of

Alexandre de Beauharnais Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name " Alexandre (disambiguation)" * Idálio Ale ...

, Viscount de Beauharnais, first husband of

Joséphine de Beauharnais Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Count ...

, the famous wife of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. This made him a 5th cousin of the Empress of Brazil the second wife of

Pedro I of Brazil Don (honorific), Dom Pedro I (English: Peter I; 12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), nicknamed "the Liberator", was the founder and List of monarchs of Brazil, first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he List of ...

, the Empress

Amélie of Leuchtenberg Amélie of Leuchtenberg ( pt, Amélia Augusta Eugénia Napoleona de Leuchtenberg; french: Amélie Auguste Eugénie Napoléonne de Leuchtenberg; 31 July 1812 – 26 January 1873) was Empress of Brazil as the wife of Pedro I of Brazil. She was the g ...

, and went to live in the court of the king

. They had a son, Horace Dominique, who would contract

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

with Maria Francisca de Paranaguá, daughter of the 2nd Marquis of Paranaguá.

Life at court

With her marriage, she became a friend and

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

of princess Francisca of Braganza, the princess of Joinville, sister of

. When the emperor's stepmother,

, refused the task of being governess to her two daughters, Francisca appointed Luísa Margarida de Barros Portugal to the emperor. After much negotiation and certification of her powers, Luísa accepted the post. Momentarily estranged from her husband, Eugène, and accompanied by her son, she moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. The countess took up residence in a rented house, since, having a family, she could not be content with an apartment in imperial palace. She was also named lady-in-waiting to Teresa Cristina in September 1855, although the real companion of the empress was Josefina da Fonseca Costa. Luísa Margarida immediately set about establishing her authority in the palace, a place where power was hotly contested, and for that reason caused the fury of many of the more self-serving officials. She had an exuberant personality, assertive air, intelligence and, at the same time, contradictory

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mentality, as well as physical beauty. Endowed with solid culture and friendly to intellectuals and celebrities of the time, such as

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

and Count of Gobineau, the countess served as an intermediary between the emperor and many intellectuals, with whom D Pedro II exchanged extensive correspondence. Emperor Pedro II was attracted to types similar to that of his stepmother Amélie. The countess thus became a close friend of the emperor and, according to most contemporary historians, his

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

. Immediately, a conflict arose between the Empress Teresa Cristina and the Countess of Barral. However, it soon became clear that the Countess would try to rival the Empress and there is no conclusive evidence that she consummated her affair with the Emperor. The few remaining correspondences between them lead to doubt whether their relationship was not purely

platonic Plato's influence on Western culture was so profound that several different concepts are linked by being called Platonic or Platonist, for accepting some assumptions of Platonism, but which do not imply acceptance of that philosophy as a whole. It ...

. After all, despite being modern and liberal, Luísa Margarida appeared to be a strict Catholic.

Last years

The relationship, a '' colorful friendship'' along the lines of those that existed in France during the

romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, would last until the year of their death. For a long period, it remained only through epistolary. The Emperor met his friend on the two trips he undertook to

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, in 1870 and 1887, and in the last months of his life, when, a widower and exiled, he spent some time at the Countess's residence in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

. D.Pedro II would also have had romances with other women, such as the Countess of Villeneuve, Madame de La Tour and Eponina Octaviano. The first two were personal friends of hers and would have been introduced to the emperor as a way of "entertaining" their lover. The countess of Barral would die a few months before the emperor.

The letters

In the 1940s, the Count of Barral, his grandson, donated to the Imperial Museum of Petrópolis the letters exchanged between his grandmother and the Emperor of Brazil, which show the relationship between them. The agreement between the countess and the emperor said that both should burn letters received from each other immediately after they were read. Although D. Pedro II followed the rules, Luísa Margarida disobeyed them sporadically and kept some letters. Thus, the only surviving letters were received by the Countess, but none sent by her to the Emperor.

Gallery

Família Barros.jpg Condessadebarrral.jpg Luísa Margarida de Barros Portugal, Condessa de Barral.jpg

References

* Wanderley Pinho, 1970, ''Salões e Damas do Segundo Reinado'', São Paulo: Martins, cap. XI, "A Condessa de Barral", p. 195-228. *

Mary Del Priore Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, 2008, ''Condessa de Barral, a paixão do imperador'', Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Portugal, Luísa Margarida de Barros 1816 births 1891 deaths People from Santo Amaro, Bahia Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian people of French descent Brazilian nobility 19th-century Brazilian people 19th-century Brazilian women Ladies-in-waiting Brazilian courtiers