When disagreements in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate had been resolved, a commission was set up that went to the palace to solicit the formal acquiescence of the monarch, who was then fourteen. Early biographers claimed that when Dom Pedro was consulted, he said that “the business should be carried out by the Andradas and their friends.” But later a new version came to light, which reveals how completely the lad was estranged from the political struggles going on around him.
In an account dated march 1840, Pedro de Araújo Lima, a man trusted by the palace, told of a conversation he had with Dom Pedro on the subject of the majority. When he explained the situation to the prince and inquired as to his opinion, the boy only replied: “I haven’t thought about it.”
Surprised, Lima said: “Your Majesty hasn’t thought about it?”
”Yes,” he deigned to reply. “I’ve heard talk of it but haven’t thought about it.”
Source:
Gledson, John, and Lilia Moritz. Schwarcz. “The Little Big King.” The Emperor's Beard: Dom Pedro II and the Tropical Monarchy of Brazil. New York: Hill and Wang, 2004. 43. Print.
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