Dom Luís I (Louis; 31 October 1838 – 19 October 1889), known as the Popular (Portuguese: o Popular) was King of Portugal from 1861 to 1889. The second son of Queen Maria II and her consort, King Ferdinand, he acceded to the throne upon the death of his elder brother King Pedro V. He was a member of the ruling House of Braganza.

Reign

Luís was a cultured man who wrote vernacular poetry, but had no distinguishing gifts in the politics into which he was thrust by the death of his older brother Pedro V in 1861. Luís's domestic reign was a series of transitional governments called Rotativism formed at various times by the Progressistas (Liberals) and the Regeneradores (Conservatives), the party generally favoured by King Luís, who secured their long term in office after 1881. Despite a flirtation with the Spanish succession prior to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Luís's reign was otherwise one of domestic stagnation as Portugal fell ever farther behind the nations of western Europe in terms of public education, political stability, technological progress and economic prosperity. In colonial affairs, Delagoa Bay was confirmed as a Portuguese possession in 1875, whilst Belgian activities in the Congo and the 1890 British Ultimatum prevented the Portuguese from colonizing modern-day Zambia and Zimbabwe in order to establish a link between Portuguese Angola and Portuguese Mozambique at the peak of the Scramble for Africa.

Personal interests

Luís was also very keen with literature, not only with books in Portuguese but also in English. He was the first to bring fully translated Shakespearean works to Portugal, such as The Merchant of Venice, Richard III and Othello, the Moor of Venice. His best-known work in Portugal was his translation of Hamlet.

Marriage and descendants

In June 1862, Luís asked Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1845–1927), a daughter of Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen and Princess Hildegard of Bavaria, to marry him in a letter sent to her father. It was urgent for him to get married as his older brother, King Pedro V, had died in November 1861, without issue and two of his younger brothers, João and Fernando, followed him shortly after, which left the Braganza dynasty almost without heirs. Luís had already selected a number of brides including Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1845-1912), sister of his late sister-in-law Stephanie, Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria (1847-1897), Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911) and also considered some Austrian archduchesses, Maria Theresa being one of them, but didn't know which one to choose. So he sent letters to his cousin, Queen Victoria, and his great-uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium, to ask for their advice. Both agreed that the best choice was Maria Theresa. Thus, King Luís sent his letter. However, his wish was not fulfilled as her father, Archduke Albert, thought she was too young at the time (she was one month away from turning 17) and needed to finish her education. Two weeks after, Luís asked for the hand of Princess Maria Pia of Savoy and, this time, was accepted, even though Maria Pia, born in 1847, was even younger than Maria Theresa. Luís married Maria Pia, the daughter of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy and Maria Adelaide of Austria, on 6 October 1862. They both had a deep love at first, but Luís's countless mistresses led Maria Pia to depression. Together they had two sons:

Illness and death

Luís was a lifelong womanizer. He had a series of extra-marital affairs, the more notorious one with actress Rosa Damasceno. Queen Maria Pia was displeased at first, but later tolerated her husband's infidelities, ending up having her own affairs when she traveled abroad. Sometime in his adult life, Luís contracted syphilis. The infection remained dormant for several years but in 1887 it became persistently manifest, taking its toll. Within two years it had evolved to neurosyphilis, killing the patient after prolonged and excrutiating suffering, on 19 October 1889, at 11:00 a.m.

Honours

He received the following orders: • undefined: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1854 • Baden: • * Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1885 • * Knight of the Order of Berthold the First, 1885 • undefined: Knight of St. Hubert, 1867 • 🇧🇪 Belgium: • *, 9 July 1854 • undefined: • *, 1861 • * Grand Cross of the Rose, with Collar • * Grand Cross of the Order of Pedro I, with Collar • 🇩🇰 Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 18 April 1864 • Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, 1854 • undefined: • * • * Military Medal • 🇬🇷 Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer • undefined: • * Knight of St. George, 1861 • * Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order • undefined: Grand Cross of the Order of Kamehameha I, 19 August 1881 • Hesse and by Rhine: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 7 December 1865 • undefined: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 20 April 1883 • 🇱🇷 Liberia: Grand Cross of the Order of African Redemption • Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore and Collar • Mexico: Grand Cross of the Mexican Eagle, with Collar, 1865 • 🇲🇨 Monaco: Grand Cross of St. Charles • 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion • Ottoman Empire: , 1st Class in Diamonds • Tunisia: Grand Cordon of the Order of Glory, in Diamonds • Prussia: Knight of the Black Eagle, 24 July 1854; with Collar, 1862 • undefined: • * Grand Cross of the Crown of Romania • * Grand Cross of the Star of Romania • undefined: • * Knight of St. Andrew, with Collar • * Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky • * Knight of the White Eagle • * Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class • 🇸🇲 San Marino: Grand Cross of San Marino • undefined: • * Knight of the Annunciation, 15 July 1855 • * Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 15 July 1855 • Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 1 August 1854 • Saxony: Knight of the Rue Crown, 1854 • Flag of Serbia (1835-1882).svg Serbia: Grand Cross of the Cross of Takovo • 🇹🇭 Siam: Knight of the Nine Gems • 🇪🇸 Spain: • * Knight of the Golden Fleece, 28 November 1861 • * Grand Cross of Naval Merit, with Red Decoration, 1877 • * Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Ferdinand • * Grand Cross of Military Merit • 🇸🇪 🇳🇴 Sweden-Norway: • * Knight of the Seraphim, 27 November 1861 • * Grand Cross of St. Olav, 28 December 1872 • undefined: Stranger Knight of the Garter, 17 June 1865 • Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1865

Ancestry