Dona Maria I

(1734-1816)

D. Maria, nicknamed "the Mercifull" and "the Madwoman", was Queen of Portugal from 1777 until her death.

Her first act as queen was the dismissal and exile of the court of the Marquis of Pombal, who never could forgive the brutal form as he treated the Távora family during the Tavora Process.

Queen, dedicated to social works, granted asylum to numerous French aristocrats who had escaped the terror of the French Revolution (1789-1799).

A melancholy and extremely Catholic Queen of such a sensitive nature that when several men entered a church with the intention of stealing precious possessions and scattered wafers on the floor, she decreed nine days of mourning, postponed public affairs, and accompanied her on foot with a candle to procession of penance that toured Lisbon.

Hers reign was of great legislative, commercial and diplomatic activity, in which one can highlight the trade treaty that he signed with Russia in 1789.

She developed culture and science,

In the area of ​​social assistance, he founded Casa Pia de Lisboa.

Disabled, Maria lived in Brazil for eight years, always in an unhappy state.

Shee died in the Convent of Carmo, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, on March 20, 1816, at the age of 81. After the funeral ceremonies, her body was buried in the Ajuda Convent, also in Rio de Janeiro. With her death, Prince Regent John was acclaimed King of Portugal and Brazil.

In 1821, after the return of the Royal Family to Portugal, her remains were transferred to Lisbon and buried in a tomb in the Estrela Basilica, a church that the queen herself ordered to be built.