Maria I of Portugal

Uncommon card · No. 94039

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 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 Peter in 1760. They had six children, of whom three survived infancy: José, John, and Mariana Vitória. The death of King Joseph in 1777 placed Maria, then 42 years old, on the throne. Her husband Peter was nominally king alongside her as Peter 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...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Attributed to Giuseppe Troni, Public domain