Pedro II of Brazil

Pedro II became emperor in 1831 when his father abdicated and left for Europe, leaving a small boy to grow up under regency tutors who drilled duty and intellect into him. The long reign that followed turned a fragile post-colonial state into a stable power: his government ran a working parliamentary system, won wars against Paraguay and Uruguay, settled revolts, and despite fierce opposition from landowning elites, he pushed through the abolition of slavery. He became known internationally as a learned patron of science and culture, but in 1889 military republicans toppled him in a coup with little popular energy behind it. Disillusioned and refusing to spill blood, he accepted exile and spent his last years in Europe, modest and largely alone. The republican governments that followed worked to delegitimize the monarchy, yet as those republics lurched through turbulence and authoritarianism, historians began to reconsider - his remains were brought home with honors, and he is now ranked among Brazil's greatest statesmen, often called the greatest.