Beauharnaises in the Braganzas

Queen Maria II of Portugal was originally betrothed to her uncle, D. Miguel I, when he renegged on that promise, they set about finding another husband for her. The choice fell on Prince Auguste de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg because of his lack of familial connections - his mother was a Bavarian princess, and his father was Napoleon's stepson.

Unfortunately Auguste married the queen, fell ill and died, and the Leuchtenberg title passed to his brother Maximilian, who was married to a daughter of the Russian Emperor.

Around the same time that Auguste and Maria got married, her father was marrying as his second wife, Auguste's sister, Amelia. They were slightly more successful (if it can be regarded as that) in the matter of producing a child - a tubercular daughter, the Infanta Maria Amelia of Portugal and Brazil.

Maria Amelia was betrothed to Archduke Maximilian (yes, the same Max that was shot as Emperor of Mexico), but died before the wedding could take place.

Now here are my questions: 1) What if Auguste hadn't died, and had had children with Maria; 2) what if Pedro I of Brazil had had a son with Amelia, would he maybe partition the empire - Portugal to his son from his first marriage, and Brazil to the son by Amelia? or some other compromise; 3) What if Maria Amelia and Max had married? Would there be any significant changes to his life i.e. would he still go to Mexico and be shot or would he be just another Austrian Archduke bouncing around the Empire, would he have children etc
 
Queen Maria II of Portugal was originally betrothed to her uncle, D. Miguel I, when he renegged on that promise, they set about finding another husband for her. The choice fell on Prince Auguste de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg because of his lack of familial connections - his mother was a Bavarian princess, and his father was Napoleon's stepson.

Unfortunately Auguste married the queen, fell ill and died, and the Leuchtenberg title passed to his brother Maximilian, who was married to a daughter of the Russian Emperor.

Around the same time that Auguste and Maria got married, her father was marrying as his second wife, Auguste's sister, Amelia. They were slightly more successful (if it can be regarded as that) in the matter of producing a child - a tubercular daughter, the Infanta Maria Amelia of Portugal and Brazil.

Maria Amelia was betrothed to Archduke Maximilian (yes, the same Max that was shot as Emperor of Mexico), but died before the wedding could take place.

Now here are my questions: 1) What if Auguste hadn't died, and had had children with Maria; 2) what if Pedro I of Brazil had had a son with Amelia, would he maybe partition the empire - Portugal to his son from his first marriage, and Brazil to the son by Amelia? or some other compromise; 3) What if Maria Amelia and Max had married? Would there be any significant changes to his life i.e. would he still go to Mexico and be shot or would he be just another Austrian Archduke bouncing around the Empire, would he have children etc

Unfortunately you got some of the dates and information wrong. Emperor Pedro I married Amelie (or Amélia as she became known in Brazil) in 1829. His daughter Maria II married Amelie's brother in 1835, six years later. By then Pedro I was already dead, although he gave his blessing to the marriage proposal shortly before his death in late 1834.

Pedro I and Amelie's only offspring, Maria Amélia, as never a Portuguese infanta (princess). She was born in 1831, her father abdicated the Portuguese crown in 1826. Thus, she could not inherit something that did not belong to her father anymore, but to Maria II.

Now to your answers:

1) I can't imagine any major changes in Portugal's history if Maria II had any children with Amelie's brother. Perhaps, and probably, the changes would be for worse. Maria II's marriage to a Saxe-Coburg-Gotha allowed her offprings and descendants to be related to a major European royal house.

2) Emperor Pedro II could never inherit Portugal: he was born in Brazil in December 1825 when the country was already independent from Portugal. That's why when Pedro I abdicated in 1826 it was Maria II, a female, who became Queen of Portugal. Any child born to Pedro I and Amelie after Maria Amélia would NOT be part of either the Portuguese royal family nor of the Brazilian Imperial family. But since this is the alternate history forum, let's pretend a child was born between 1829 and April 1831: then it would be a Brazilian prince, but not a Portuguese infante. If born a boy, it would be Pedro II's heir until the birth of Afonso in 1845.

3) Thats' one great question. Along with "What would have happened if a son of Pedro II had lived to adulthood?" is one of the great questions that pave ways to just as equaly great theories.

It's known that Maximilian's trip to Brazil had a major impact in his acceptance of the Mexican crown. And the sole reason to which he travelled to Brazil was due to Maria Amélia, who was long dead.

One of the things that most people don't know is that Pedro II sent letters of support to Abraham Lincoln during the U.S. Civil War. The Brazilian emperor regarded himself as a Northener (that is, pro-Union). Another mostly unknown fact is that Pedro II disapproved Maximilian's adventure in Mexico.

But what would have happened if Maximilian's wife was Pedro II's beloved sister? Would we have seen the Brazilian Imperial Army in Mexico? Or the Brazilian ironclads?
 
But what would have happened if Maximilian's wife was Pedro II's beloved sister? Would we have seen the Brazilian Imperial Army in Mexico? Or the Brazilian ironclads?

I'm not sure, but I think it's unlikely that Parliament would accept that, even if Maximilian was now part of the Brazilian Imperial family. The Mexican Empire was seen as an illegal intromission of France into the government of an American country, and if accepted it could give a precedent to European interventions in Brazil too (and even worse would be the fact that it happened during a period just after the Christie Affair with the UK). Also, disregarding butterflies, by 1864/1865 Brazil had more urgent problems to solve in the Plata basin than sending a fleet to Mexico.
 
Top