The strength of the Portuguese Republic and the decline of the monarchy began with the assassinations of King Carlos and Crown Prince Luis.
February 1, 1908, was an extraordinary day in Portuguese history.
On this day, King Carlos and his family, who had returned to Lisbon from their old residence, were riding a carriage in the street market. Suddenly, a young man shot the king twice with a revolver. Not long after King Carlos was shot to death, another assassin appeared and opened fire.
Killed Prince Louis, heir to the throne.
The old king and crown prince died, and Manuel unexpectedly succeeded to the throne.
Manuel II, who was weak and timid, did not take this good opportunity to attack the republicans. Instead, he dismissed Prime Minister Franco and allowed the republicans to enter the cabinet.
A weak king is terrible. His great power will only be regarded as incompetent, and he will not receive the rewards he expects.
From the day the Republicans took charge of the cabinet, Portugal's royal power suffered a heavy blow, and it was only a matter of time before the royal family was overthrown.
Historically, on October 4, 1910, the Republicans completely tore off their coats and launched the so-called revolution.
The coup d'état on the grounds of republican revolution was calm and swift, quickly burning away the remains of the monarchy, and completing the transformation to a republic with little resistance.
However, in this world, the historical line has changed. With the appearance of Duke Francisco, the aristocratic faction has support and did not surrender, but chose to resist.
Although the Republicans had the banner of the king, the Portuguese nobles had a deep foundation and were not defeated at once.
After repeated pulling and pulling, both sides made concessions, clarified the needs of each party, and established autonomy, reshaping Portugal's political situation on the model of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Without the enemy, a large chunk of interest is attractive, so internal fighting takes place.
The Portuguese republicans began to split very naturally. They fell out of favor faster than turning over a book. They completely lost the cooperation and friendship that they had before with the same hatred and hatred.
The first to attack was the dominant Prime Minister Teofilo Braga. In order to obtain maximum benefits, he began to eliminate dissidents.
Teofilo Braga, a republican, began to have good relations with Manuel II. The two supported each other and were unanimous in dealing with the outside world.
In order to better consolidate his rights and attack his political opponents, Teofilo Braga abandoned his original friendly appearance and showed no mercy to his former comrades. He used various reasons to send several influential figures to prison.
Entered the cell.
Teofilo Braga was ashamed of himself for his own benefit. Naturally, other people who were threatened would not remain indifferent. They began to quietly connect and prepare for a coup.
The opposition's coup purpose is very clear. They are ready to overthrow Teofilo Braga and Manu II, deprive them of their power, and make them unable to stand up again.
The secret clique of the opposition was stopped by Prime Minister Teofilo Braga.
But Teofilo Braga discovered it too late. His opponents had already gathered a large number of troops, and his plan to take countermeasures was leaked. The opposition knew that they could not wait any longer and launched a coup in advance.
February 22, 1910, early morning.
Incited by Manuel José de Arriaga, naval officer Santos led two cruisers to openly rebel and bombard the palace and the Prime Minister's residence.
Prime Minister Teofilo Braga shuddered, but he did not panic. He hurried to the palace with the presidential guard to find the king.
After the two met, they jointly issued an order from the king and the prime minister to the army in the capital, asking them to activate the forts to shock the rebel navy.
Although Teofilo Braga responded quickly, his orders were not obeyed because the Army had been infiltrated by his opponents, and at this time the Army chose to rebel.
The Lisbon Army refused to implement Emperor Manuel's order to suppress, and instead began to attack the Royal Guards, forming a joint outflanking trend with the Navy.
The army's loss of control meant that the two men lost the ability to suppress the opposition, and their failure was a foregone conclusion.
Under this situation, King Manuel II and Prime Minister Teofilo Braga had different reactions.
As the king of Portugal, Manuel II was not worried about his own safety. After all, no matter who came in his place, he would still be a rubber stamp.
Unlike the calm king, Teofilo Braga, as prime minister, was extremely panicked. He knew that he was in danger.
The previous efforts to eliminate dissidents have severely offended the opposition. The king will be fine with this coup, but as the prime minister, he may not be.
Teofilo Braga's existence as Prime Minister has blocked the way of too many people, and it is very likely that he will die in the coup.
After all, no one wants a big boss to exist above them. Since it is a coup, of course, this big boss must be completely eliminated.
At the moment of life and death, Teofilo Braga quickly came up with his best solution. He wanted to control the king and escape from the capital with him.
As long as he has the banner of the king, he can mobilize his strength to ask for help in order to make a comeback. Without the rubber stamp of the king, he will lose everything, including his life.
Manuel II, who was controlled by Teofilo Braga, could only obey his orders and cooperate with his actions for the sake of safety.
Teofilo Braga took King Manuel II and began an escape operation under the protection of the palace guards and presidential guards.
Across a shallow strait from Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is Sebatur, the capital of the Greater Algarve Autonomous Region.
Although Teofilo Braga had a rift with Duke Francisco of Braganza in the past because of the control of the country, he has been making good friends with the Duke after dividing the territory of influence.
Teofilo Braga knows very well what is an enemy? What is a friend?
As time changes and interests differ, former friends become enemies, and enemies become friends.
After dividing the forces, his former partners become his opponents in pursuit of the best interests, and his former hated and hated enemies can sometimes help him.
There was chaos in the city of Lisbon, and Teofilo Braga was not sure about the situation outside the city. In this case, the chosen destination of escape was of course Sebatus.
In this extremely chaotic situation, Teofilo Braga didn't have much choice at all, because he didn't have time to escape to other countries.
Although not many members of the navy participated in the rebellion, with only a few warships, the navy was not completely out of control. They were more of a bystander.
Teofilo Braga also had a hidden agenda in the navy, and he quickly led the king to the Coimbra destroyer.
The Coimbra destroyer is the main battleship of the Portuguese Navy. The captain and several officers were assigned by him a long time ago. Now it is time to use it.
Teofilo Braga thought very well. He and the king also boarded the Coimbra battleship, but this boarding would be the beginning of his and Manuel II's death.
The Coimbra's unusual movements attracted an attack from the rebel navy, but this attack was not fatal to it. What sent it to hell was a torpedo launched by a submarine.
The German submarine purchased by Tang Ning was put into action before the coup. It was already lying in wait in the sea, waiting for its prey to come.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
…
The two submarines fired numerous torpedoes, seven of which hit the destroyer Coimbra.
This chapter has been completed!