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Maria Isabel de Alcântara, Countess of Iguaçu

São Paulo, 28 Feb 1830 – 6 Sep 1896

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 28 Feb 1830

    Born in São Paulo

  2. 6 Sep 1896

    Dies, aged 66

Family

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Parents

Partner

During her lifetime

She lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around São Paulo.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1830s · Maria is born in São Paulo, where about 21,933 people lived

Who governed

What people wore

Everyday clothing for children and workers

Children often went completely naked in their early years, while enslaved women working in fields or as laborers frequently wore only a simple shirt. In some urban settings, young girls began wearing skirts around age 6 to 11, with differences in style reflecting social status.

Daily life

Eating Without Cutlery

Meals were often eaten without cutlery, using hands to shape manioc flour into balls, known as pirão, which were dipped into broth and meat.

In the news1831

Law Abolishing Slave Trade

The government promulgated a law that officially abolished the slave trade into Brazil. However, it was widely ignored and became known as the law to see for the English, as the trade continued due to high demand.

Music

Popular dances and unique instruments

The jongo was a powerful dance performed by enslaved people in circles with rhythmic footwork, while the caquinhos, an unconventional instrument made of ceramic shards or metal, accompanied lundus and other songs.

At the table

Cassava flour and the pirão paste

Cassava flour was a staple eaten by all classes, often mixed with meat juices or broths to form a thick paste known as pirão, which was typically eaten with the fingers.

Around the world1825–1830

The first passenger railway

In England a steam locomotive pulled the first public train in 1825; within decades railways crossed every continent.

Getting around

Mule trains took months to travel

Travelers often relied on long journeys by mule train that could take between two and three months to complete.