252 TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS OF [Sess. lvi. 



improvements he introduced were numerous. Till ].854 

 there was scarcely a mile of road of any kind in the country. 

 Now there is a network of communication by railroads and 

 telegraphs over the whole empire. 



Sanitary improvements have been introduced into most 

 of the leading cities, as well as gas and electric light. 

 Regular lines of steamers ply along the sea-coast and up the 

 large rivers, and commerce and trade have been greatly 

 increased. All these lines of steamers and railroads are 

 managed by native engineers, of whom there is now a large 

 school. 



These remarks may be concluded by a short notice of the 

 eventful careers of the Emperor and his family. Dom 

 Pedro's grandfather, John VI. of Portugal, withdrew from 

 Lisbon to Kio de Janeiro on the invasion of the French 

 under Napoleon in 1807, and did not return to Portugal till 



1821, when he founded there the present constitutional 

 monarchy. The Emperor's father, Dom Pedro I., elder son 

 of John VI., was left by him as Prince Regent of Brazil, 

 but the following year he asserted the independence of that 

 country, and was proclaimed Emperor on 7th September 



1822. His reign was a checkered one, and, disgusted with 

 the opposition he met with from the different political parties, 

 he in 1831 abdicated in favour of his son, Dom Pedro II., 

 and returned to Portugal to save that kingdom from the 

 usurpation of his brother Dom Miguel. Dom Pedro II. 

 was only in his sixth year when he became Emperor. He 

 was declared of age when 15, in 1840, and crowned the 

 following year. In 1843, he married Donna Theresa 

 Christina Maria, daughter of the late Erancis I., King of the 

 Two Sicilies. By her he had two sons, who died as infants, 

 and two daughters, the elder of whom, Donna Isabel, the 

 Princess Imperial (who is now the successor to the rights of 

 the Emjjeror), married in 1864 Prince Louis of Orleans, 

 Comte d'Eu, and has three sons. 



Tlie Emperor was cordially su]>])orted in all his projects 

 for the good of his people by the Empress and Princess, 

 who, like him, were universally Ijeloved ; — notwithstanding 

 which, he was, without complaint or warning, on 15th 

 November 1889, seized, dethroned, and, with liis family, sent 

 into exile, to ensure the success of a military revolt, and 



