Maria I of Portugal

Dona Maria I (Maria Francisca Isabel Josefa Antónia Gertrudes Rita Joana; 17 December 1734 – 20 March 1816) also known as Maria the Pious in Portugal and Maria the Mad in Brazil, was Queen of Portugal from 24 February 1777 until her death in 1816. Maria was the first undisputed queen regnant of Portugal and the first monarch of Brazil.

Maria was the eldest daughter of King Dom José I (Joseph I) of Portugal and Queen Mariana Victoria. As the heir to the throne, she held the titles of Princess of Brazil and Duchess of Braganza. She married her uncle Infante Pedro (Peter) in 1760. They had six children, of whom three survived infancy: José, João (John), and Mariana Vitória. The death of King José in 1777 placed Maria, then 42 years old, on the throne. Her husband Pedro was nominally king alongside her as Dom Pedro III.

Upon ascending the throne, Maria dismissed her father's powerful chief minister, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal. The early part of Maria's reign witnessed growth in Portugal's economy. Maria had a number of national buildings constructed and renovated, leading to the completion of the Palace of Queluz and the inauguration of the Palace of Ajuda and other new monuments. The death of her husband in 1786, followed by the deaths in 1788 of her eldest son, José, and her confessor Inácio de São Caetano, caused the queen to develop clinical depression. Her second son, João, then served as prince regent. With Napoleon's European conquests, Maria and her court moved to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in 1807. After Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in 1815, Maria became Queen of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Upon her death in 1816, she was succeeded by her son Dom João VI.

Maria was born at the Ribeira Palace in Lisbon on 17 December 1734 and baptized Maria Francisca Isabel Josefa Antónia Gertrudes Rita Joana. She was the eldest of four daughters born to Dom José (Joseph), Prince of Brazil (later King Dom José I of Portugal), and Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain. Her father José was the eldest surviving son of the reigning King Dom João V (John V) of Portugal. Her mother, Mariana Victoria, was the eldest daughter of King Don Felipe V (Philip V) of Spain. Maria's paternal grandfather João V appointed her Princess of Beira on the day of her birth.

Maria's grandfather died on 31 July 1750. Her father, Prince José, then succeeded to the throne as Dom José I. As José's eldest child, Maria became his heir presumptive and was given the traditional titles of Princess of Brazil and Duchess of Braganza.

King José's government was dominated completely by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal. The Marquis of Pombal secured control of the government after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, in which around 100,000 people lost their lives. The palace of Maria's birth was also destroyed in the disaster.

After the earthquake, King José was often uncomfortable at the thought of staying in enclosed spaces, and later experienced claustrophobia. The king had a palace built in Ajuda, away from the city centre. This palace became known as Real Barraca de Ajuda (Royal Hut at Ajuda) because it was made of wood. The family spent much time at the large palace. (The palace was the birthplace of Maria's first child, José, English: Dom Joseph.) In 1794 the palace burned to the ground and the Palace of Ajuda was built in its place.

On 6 June 1760, Maria married the king's younger brother, her uncle Pedro (later King Dom Pedro III of Portugal). Maria and Pedro had six children: José, João Francisco, João (later King Dom João VI), Mariana Vitória, Maria Clementina, and Maria Isabel. Only José, João, and Mariana Vitória survived to adulthood. Maria also delivered a stillborn boy in 1762.