Amélia (Empress Dona)
Original title: Amelia (Imperatriz D.)
Account of the stay in Funchal (1852–53) of the Empress Amélia of Brazil, widow of D. Pedro IV, with her daughter Princess D. Maria Amélia, who died there of tuberculosis. The princess's death led to the founding of the Hospício da Princesa D. Maria Amélia.
The Empress of Brazil, Dona Amélia, widow of Pedro IV, and her daughter Princess Maria Amélia arrived in Funchal on 28 August 1852 aboard the naval frigate D. Fernando, escorted by the corvette D. João I and the steam warship D. Luiz. The squadron was commanded by Captain José Maria de Sousa Soares, and the frigate D. Fernando served as flagship.
The reception was magnificent and deeply moved the empress and the princess. Although gravely ill, the princess remained cheerful and smiling all the way from her landing at the Pontinha (‘little point’) to the Quinta das Angústias (‘estate of the Sorrows’), where she took up residence, at the sight of so many demonstrations of esteem and affection lavished on her by the inhabitants of this city.
Everyone knows that Princess Maria Amélia did not find in Madeira’s balmy air and mild climate the relief that had been hoped for. After a stay of five months and a few days among us, she succumbed to the ravages of terrible pulmonary tuberculosis in the early hours of 4 February 1853.
The princess, according to trustworthy contemporary witnesses, was of unequalled kindness and aroused the liveliest and most ardent affection in all who saw her or came near her. Her death therefore caused the whole population of Funchal the deepest grief, which endured among us for many years. The empress embarked on her return to Lisbon, accompanying the coffin that held the mortal remains of her daughter, on 6 May 1853. It was an imposing procession, in which not a dry eye was to be seen. From the humblest townsman to the desolate empress, all wept copiously. It seemed as if a great calamity had occurred. This death, as everyone knows, led to the founding of the Princess Maria Amélia Hospice (Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélia), of which we shall speak on another occasion. The Empress Dona Amélia died in Lisbon on 26 January 1873.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 03-
Empress Amélia of Brazil and Princess Maria Amélia, who travelled on medical advice, arrived in Funchal aboard the frigate D. Fernando, accompanied by Dr Barral; the council named a street after the princess.
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Princess D. Maria Amélia, daughter of Empress Amélia, died of pulmonary tuberculosis at the Quinta das Angústias in Funchal.
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The coffin of Princess Maria Amélia was embarked at the Pontinha quay and the Empress left Madeira with it for Lisbon.
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The Empress Amélia died in Lisbon without having seen the hospice she founded in Funchal.
Place
Places mentioned · 04
Abroad
- Funchal
City where the empress and princess arrived and stayed.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Destination of the empress's return and place of her death.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
- Pontinha
Machico. Landing place where the royal visitors disembarked.
The Pontinha is the coastal projection at the western end of Funchal bay, originally called Ilhéus after two rocky islets later joined to the shore by walls and by the breakwater completed in 1889. The Elucidário traces its forts, chapel, lighthouse, passenger quay and road, storm damage in 1757 and 1892, and the maritime disinfection station there from 1901. It was the landing place of notable visitors such as the nuncio and the Archduchess Leopoldina. A locality of the same name is also listed among the main localities of Machico parish.
- Quinta das Angústias
Funchal. Estate where the empress took up residence.
Quinta das Angústias is an estate in Funchal where the Empress D. Amélia and the Duke of Leuchtenberg resided during their stays. The Conde de Lambert later bought it as his residence, and the Mirante de D. Guiomar belvedere stands on it.
People
People mentioned · 04-
Empress of Brazil and widow of D. Pedro IV; she stayed in Funchal in 1852–53 with her dying daughter and died in Lisbon in 1873.
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Naval captain commanding the squadron that brought the empress and princess to Funchal in 1852.
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King of Portugal and Emperor of Brazil, late husband of the Empress Amélia.
- Princess Maria Améliad. 1853
Daughter of the Empress Amélia who came to Madeira seeking a cure for tuberculosis and died in Funchal in 1853.