Pedro de Araújo Lima, Marquis of Olinda

Pedro de Araújo Lima, Marquis of Olinda (22 December 1793 – 7 June 1870) was a politician and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. His long political career spanned the reigns of John VI, Pedro I and Pedro II. He was also one of the founders of the Brazilian Conservative Party.

He served as Regent of the Empire of Brazil from 1837 until 1840, during the minority of Emperor Pedro II. Later, during the personal reign of Pedro II, Olinda on four different periods served as President of the Council of Ministers.

Early life
Pedro de Araújo Lima was born on 22 December 1793. His birthplace was Antas farm, near the village of Sirinhaém in Pernambuco (a captaincy of the northeastern region of colonial Brazil). Through his father, Manuel de Araújo Lima, he was a descendant of settlers who had come from Portugal in the early 16th century with Duarte Coelho, the first captain general of Pernambuco. Through his mother, Ana Teixeira Cavalcante, his ancestry traced back to Filippo Cavalcanti, a nobleman from Florence. Filippo Cavalcanti married a daughter of the Portuguese settler Jerônimo de Albuquerque (a brother of Duarte Coelho's wife) and his Amerindian spouse (the daughter of a cacique, or chieftain, of the Tabajara people). His family was both old and wealthy. The family owned several engenhos ("engines"), as sugarcane plantations were called in Brazil. One of these properties was Antas farm. The sugarcane planters were the northeastern equivalent in power and wealth to later coffee farmers in Brazil's southeast.

As there was little access to primary schools, which were usually only to be found in larger towns, Pedro de Araújo Lima learned to read and write at home. In 1805 at the age of 12, he went to live with a paternal uncle in Recife, capital of Pernambuco. He enrolled five years later in the colégio Madre de Deus (Mother of God School). In 1813, he crossed the Atlantic to study Law at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. His fellow Brazilians in Coimbra at that time included Bernardo Pereira de Vasconcelos, Manuel Alves Branco (later the 2nd Viscount of Caravelas), Cândido José de Araújo Viana (later the Marquis of Sapucaí), Miguel Calmon du Pin e Almeida (later the Marquis of Abrantes) and João Bráulio Muniz.

Araújo Lima proved to be a very good student, and he graduated on 15 March 1817. Continuing in advanced studies, he received a doctorate decree in Canon law on 27 August 1819. He returned to Brazil later that year, disembarking in Pernambuco in December. In mid-1820, he was first offered the office of ouvidor (superior judge) and then a position as Provedor da fazenda, dos defuntos, ausentes, capelas e resíduos (Steward of finances, of the deceased, absent, chapels and residuals) in Paracatu, captaincy of Minas Gerais, but he declined both.

Araújo Lima was 1.70 m tall, had blue eyes and brown hair.

Political career
In 1820 the military garrisons in Portugal mutinied, leading to what became known as the Liberal Revolution of 1820. The military formed a provisional government and summoned the Cortes—the centuries-old Portuguese parliament, this time democratically elected with the aim of creating a national Constitution.