Mariana Victoria of Spain
Mariana Victoria of Spain (Portuguese: Mariana Vitória; 31 March 1718 – 15 January 1781) was an Infanta of Spain by birth and was later the Queen of Portugal as wife of King Joseph I. She acted as regent of Portugal in 1776–1777, during the last months of her husband's life and as advisor to her daughter, Maria I of Portugal, in her reign.
Mariana Victoria of Spain
31 July 1750 – 24 February 1777
31 March 1718
Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
15 January 1781 (aged 62)
Barraca Real of Ajuda, Lisbon, Portugal
17 January 1781
Crown Princess of Portugal[edit]
Her arrival in Spain was taken as a great insult and caused a diplomatic rift between Spain and France.[5] The offended Spanish soon after concluded a treaty with Austria in the form of the 1725 Treaty of Vienna, whilst England sought support from France. Having remained unmarried, she was still eligible to inherit the throne but was displaced by her younger brother Infante Philip who was born in 1720. Discussions with the Kingdom of Portugal began in 1727 and a marriage was negotiated by the Portuguese ambassador the Marquis of Abrantes. She was a rumored bride for Emperor Peter II of Russia, grandson of Peter the Great.[6] Another double marriage was planned. Mariana Victoria would marry the Infante José, "Prince of Brazil", son and heir of João V of Portugal. Her older half brother Ferdinand, "Prince of Asturias" would marry José's sister the Infanta Bárbara.[7] Mariana Victoria married the Prince of Brazil (traditional title for the Portuguese heir to the throne) on 19 January 1729 at Elvas in Portugal. The Prince of Asturias (traditional title for the Spanish heir to the throne) married the Infanta Bárbara the next day at Badajoz. From her marriage until the time of her husband's accession to the throne in 1750, she was styled Her Royal Highness the Princess of Brazil.
Mariana and Joseph would soon have a close relationship. The couple enjoyed hunting as well as music – Mariana Victoria was an accomplished singer – they patronized Italian opera singers and the theatre but were both passionately religious. Despite this, her husband maintained various mistresses much to the dislike of his strong-willed wife. During her marriage, Mariana Victoria gave birth to eight children, four of whom survived infancy.[8] Her first child Infanta Maria was given the style Princess of Beira as the heir apparent to her father. Two of Mariana Victoria's daughters remained unmarried. Her daughter Infanta Mariana Francisca was a proposed bride for the Dauphin of France, son of Louis XV, but Mariana Victoria herself rejected the plan. When her other daughter Infanta Doroteia was proposed as a wife for the future Philippe Égalité Mariana Victoria again refused to the match. Her youngest daughter Infanta Benedita married José, Prince of Brazil, Mariana Victoria's grandson. The latter marriage was organised by Mariana Victoria herself after the death of her husband.[9]
Queen and regent[edit]
At the death of her father-in-law, King John V in 1750, her husband became the ruler of the Portuguese Empire which had significant territories in South America. Her husband's reign was dominated by the influence of the Marquis of Pombal who was a favourite of the Queen mother. Joseph I soon left the governing of the state to Pombal who used his power to remove the influence of the church at the court as well as that of his enemies. Mariana Victoria and her daughter disliked the influence Pombal had over Joseph I. Her husband's reign was marred by the devastating 1755 Lisbon earthquake of 1 November 1755 which killed 100,000 people. The earthquake caused Joseph I to develop a severe case of claustrophobia and he was never again comfortable living within a walled building. Consequently, he moved the royal court to an extensive complex of tents in the hills of Ajuda. It was Pombal who organised the reconstruction of Lisbon in the aftermath of the earthquake.
In 1759, the Távora affair emerged after an assassination attempt on her husband failed and the powerful Távora family were, in the eyes of Pombal, completely responsible for the attack. Pombal later ordered the execution of all members of the noble family and it was only at the intervention of Mariana Victoria and her daughter, the Princess of Brazil, that some women and children were spared. As Pombal was de facto ruler of the state, Mariana Victoria and her husband took a less prominent role in politics.
Her husband, having suffered from a series of strokes, decided to allow his wife to take his place as head of government.[10] As such, Mariana Victoria was created Regent of Portugal in her husband's name. Created Regent on 29 November 1776, she remained so until her husband's death on 24 February 1777.[10] Upon her husband's death, their eldest daughter became the first queen regnant as Maria I. Throughout Maria I's reign Mariana Victoria exerted significant influence on her daughter, who would often ask her mother's advice on matters of state. In the early days of Maria I's reign, Pombal was exiled to the country.[10]