desires for the needs of the State. Among these principles was the habit of exercising their handwriting by writing the following text: The study program for Maria Leopoldina and her siblings included subjects such as reading, writing, dance, drawing, painting, piano, riding, hunting, history, geography and music; and in an advanced module, mathematics (arithmetic and geometry), literature, physics, singing and crafts. From an early age, Maria Leopoldina showed a greater inclination towards the disciplines of natural sciences, being mainly interested in botany and mineralogy. The Archduchess also inherited the habit of collecting from her father: she began collections of coins, plants, flowers, minerals and shells. Between October and December 1816, she was successful in quickly learning the Portuguese language; by December, the Archduchess was already speaking fluently with Portuguese diplomats, and lived "surrounded by maps of Brazil and books containing the History of this Kingdom, or Memories related to it". Language learning was part of the family formation, and Leopoldina became a notorious polyglot, speaking 7 languages: her native German, as well as Portuguese, French, Italian, English, Greek and Latin. Leopoldina and her siblings were taken on frequent visits to museums, botanical gardens, factories and agricultural fields. And, not infrequently, they participated in dances, performed in plays and played instruments for an audience, with the intention of getting the children used to ceremonies and public exposure. The Habsburg Archudukes and Archduchesses were encouraged to attend the theatre in order to develop public speaking abilities, greater articulation and oratory skills. Negotiations and Marriage For centuries, royal marriages in Europe served primarily as political alliances. Through marriage, the geopolitical cartography of the European continent was shaped by a complex web of shared interests and solidarity between royal houses. The marriage between Maria Leopoldina and Dom Pedro de Alcântara, Prince Royal of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, was a strategic alliance between the monarchies of Portugal and Austria. With this union, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine fulfilled the famous motto: Bella gerant alii, tu, felix Austria, nube ("Let others wage war, thou, happy Austria, marry"). On 24 September 1816, it was announced by Emperor Francis I that Dom Pedro de Alcântara, wished to take a Habsburg Archduchess as his wife. Prince Klemens von Metternich suggested that it should be Maria Leopoldina to go get married, as it was "her turn" to become a wife. The Marquis of Marialva played an