enormous role in the wedding negotiations, the same one who had negotiated, advised by Alexander von Humboldt, the coming to Brazil of the French Artistic Mission. King John VI did everything to include the Infanta Dona Isabel Maria (who would be regent of the Kingdom of Portugal from 1826 to 1828 and would die unmarried) in the negotiations. The Marquis of Marialva made a guarantee that the Portuguese royal family was determined to return to the continent as soon as Brazil demonstrated that it had surely "escaped the flames of the wars of independence that were advancing in the Spanish colonies", thus obtaining Austrian consent to marriage. Once this was secured, the contract was signed in Vienna on 29 November 1816. Two ships were prepared, and in April 1817, scientists, painters, gardeners and a taxidermist, all with assistants, travelled to Rio de Janeiro ahead of Maria Leopoldina, who, in the meantime, studied the history and geography of her future home and learned Portuguese. During these weeks, the Archduchess compiled and wrote a vade mecum, a unique document the like of which has never been produced by any other Habsburg princess. The marriage per procuram (by proxy) between Maria Leopoldina and Dom Pedro took place on 13 May 1817 at the Augustinian Church in Vienna. The groom was represented by the bride's uncle, Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. Through this marriage, King John VI saw the opportunity to counteract the excessive influence of England in its domains by forging new alliances with traditional dynasties. Austria, on the other hand, saw the new Portuguese-Brazilian Empire as an important transatlantic ally that fit perfectly with the reactionary, absolutist ideals of the Holy Alliance. In this way, the marriage was a purely political act, not a sentimental one. From Austria to the New World and the Scientific Mission The crossing of the Atlantic Maria Leopoldina's trip to Brazil was difficult and time-consuming. The Archduchess left Vienna for Florence on 2 June 1817, where she awaited further instructions from the Portuguese court, since monarchical authority remained tenuous in Brazil since the Pernambucan revolt. On 13 August 1817, Maria Leopoldina was finally allowed to embark on her journey from Livorno, Italy, on the Portuguese fleet composed of the ships D. João VI and São Sebastião. With her luggage and a large entourage, she faced 86 days of crossing the waters of the Atlantic. Forty boxes the