Audience With an Empress

On April 21, 1876 eighteen year-old Susie Scott wrote:

"Mr. Thomsen had arranged to have us presented to the Europeans this afternoon at 5 o'clock...So we drove to the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and were ushered into a Parlor, where a Valet de Place took our cards to the Brazilian Minister, and after sitting about five minutes we were conducted into her Royal Presence.  She rose, and shook hands with us all, and made signs to Mama to sit down beside her on the sofa.  I talked to Mrs. Borges the Brazilian Minister's wife and Mrs. __ was rattling off Portuguese to the Dame L'honneur.  Poor Lottie was frightened to death.  We stayed about ten minutes, and then after shaking hands with the Empress (who is very cordial) and saying Je suis bien assez de faire la connaissance de votre Majeste, and humbly something about l'honneur we all backed out of the room, and went back to the Thomsen's where Baby was waiting to hear all about our daring exploit."

So who was the Brazilian Empress and what was she doing in New York?

Teresa Christina, Empress of Brazil was born March 14, 1822 in Naples Italy.  She was the daughter of King Don Franciso I of the Two Sicilies and a descendant of France's "Sun King" Louis XIV.  Teresa Christina's marriage to Dom Pedro II of Brazil had a rocky start when Pedro II saw an idealized rendering of her and agreed to wed her by proxy.  When she arrived by ship he boarded with enthusiasm to greet her only to become disappointed by her plain countenance and exaggerated limp.  However, they dutifully produced  four children and over time grew devoted to one another (despite Dom Pedro's discreet affairs).

Pedro II was a linguist (he spoke 13 languages), passionate about science and the arts and was known for his polite and unassuming personality.  A great admirer of American industry and World Fairs, he timed his only trip to the US to coincide with the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.  It was the first time the US had ever hosted a reigning monarch.

The Emperor and Empress arrived in New York City on April 16, 1876 and took residence at the fashionable Fifth Avenue Hotel on Fifth Avenue between 23rd and 24th Street.  The article below recounts their arrival:

Daily Alta California, 18 April 1876

As the article mentions, two days later Dom Pedro left his wife behind (due to her "delicate" health) and traveled to San Francisco stopping in Chicago, and Salt Lake City along the way.  It was during this period Susie was granted an audience with the Empress--most likely through a family association.  On May 10, Dom Pedro reunited with his wife to attend the opening ceremonies of the Centennial.   The papers reported the Emperor and Empress were seated in the place of honor next to President and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, and were joined by many American dignitaries--including Susie's cousin General Sherman.  President Grant made a brief speech, the orchestra performed 16 national anthems, Wagner's "Centennial Inauguration March," followed by a 1000 voice choir rendition of "Hallelujah Chorus" and a 100-gun salute as the president hoisted a ceremonial flag.*  The dignitaries processed to the Main Building and the Exposition officially began.  

"Reception of the Emperor and Empress of Brazil in the Women's Pavilion," Frank Leslie's Historical Register of the United States Centennial Exposition, 81.

A highlight of the Exposition was the Corliss Steam Engine, located at Machinery Hall which powered all the other great machinery at the hall.  Dom Pedro and President Grant threw a switch to start the motor and the event was memorialized in the etching below:

"President Grant and the Emperor of Brazil Starting the Great Corliss Engine inMachinery Hall," Frank Ijslie's Historical Register of the United States Centennial Exposition, 79.

In July, Dom Pedro and Teresa Christina departed for Europe leaving Americans with a positive impression, despite the fact they ruled over one of the remaining slaveholding countries.  To Dom Pedro's credit, the American visit reconfirmed his personal opposition to slavery and in 1888 he helped to end it.  A coup forced the royal family into exile in 1889, Teresa Christina died in Paris in 1889 and Dom Pedro in 1891.

*