"King Carlos of Portugal and his son the Duke of Braganza had an appointment with Death on Saturday, February 1, 1908. One of the most arbitrary public-security laws in the history of Portugal was published that morning in the Journal Officiel. The new law was designed to rid Portugal of radicals opposed to the dictatorial policies of the monarch, King Carlos, and his Prime Minister turned dictator, Joao Franco. The decree provided for special tribunals and the immediate deportation of political criminals to Africa.
King Carlos and Queen Amelia along with their sons Luis Filipe and Manuel returned to Lisbon on that fateful Saturday afternoon from a short visit to Vila Vicosa, the seat of their ancient House of Braganza. The royal family disembarked at about five in the afternoon from the ferry-boat Dom Luiz, which had carried them from Berreiro to the Terreiro do Paco, They were greeted by Cabinet Members and dignitaries, then got into an open carriage and headed for the Necessidades Palace.
Joao Franco had always been careful to secure his own person, frequently moving from house to house, yet he provided inadequate security for the royal family that day. The King's usual reckless bravado was really to blame for the lax security. Queen Amelie was well aware of the dangers due to the political turmoil: she had repeatedly opposed the exposure of her sons to the dangers of the conspiracy in Lisbon. In any case, riding in a landau with lowered hoods was certainly not the wise thing to do in view of the political circumstances exacerbated by Franco's crackdown. Among other things, suspected Carbonaris were lurking about with concealed weapons. The route to the Palace was crowded with spectators. The royal family were sitting ducks.
As the royal carriage approached the corner of the Praca do Commercio up the street from the Arsenal, a young assassin, a Lisbon cashier named Alfredo Costa, stepped from the crowd, jumped up behind the carriage and fired a pistol at King Carlos. Queen Amelia tried to beat down the assassin's arm with a bouquet of flowers that her little god-child had given her on the quay shortly before, but to no avail: one of the assassin's bullets passed through her husband's throat, severing the carotid artery - King Carlos, vigorous and in his prime, was killed instantly.
Amelia placed herself in front of her youngest son, Manuel, looked squarely into the revolver aimed at him, but the shot was not fired. A struggle took place. According to the conflicting reports, a policeman either shot the assassin dead or ran him through with a sword. At that point the Queen's lady-in-waiting, Countess Figueiro, tried to take her proper post in the carriage, but Amelia cried out, "Get away! Get away! I don't want you to be killed too!"
The coachman whipped the horses - the carriage lurched towards the corner of the arcade. Shots rang out from the crowd. Amelia turned and found her first-born son Luis Felipe mortally wounded, struck in the face and chest. The fatal deed was reportedly done with a carbine wielded by a black-bearded assassin, an ex-calvary sergeant and dismissed village schoolmaster named Manuel Buica - he had been lurking behind the pillar of the Ministry of the Interior. Because four chambers in the Crown Prince's revolver were found empty, a report credited him with firing at the assassins four times, perhaps wounding or killing one of them - another accounts stated that he did not get a single shot off. The bearded assassin took aim again and fired, slightly wounding Manuel in the arm. At this juncture the King's brother, the Duke of Oporto, and aides de camp rode up with sabres drawn. Everyone believed to be an assassin was reportedly hacked to pieces - an innocent bystander was allegedly killed in the process.
The carriage hurried to the medical department of the marine Arsenal where King Carlos was declared dead on arrival. Crown Prince Luis Felipe expired minutes later.
Hence on that terrible day eighteen-year-old Duke of Braganca became King Manuel II. The next day Manuel promised to uphold the Constitution, and he soon proceeded to dismantle the repressive machinery of his father's regime. The regicides, allegedly members of Carbonari cells, were tried in secret and executed - numerous aggrieved republicans staged a demonstration on the graves. The number of assassins involved was unclear. Some time later a third man, Jose de Alpoim, tried to take credit for the killings, but he, a known braggart, was given little credence."
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"An extensive enquiry was held on the events in 1908, initially presided by judge Alves Ferreira, but later by José da Silva Monteiro and Almeida de Azevedo, that lasted two years. During this period evidence was provided to indict members of the Carbonária, who were intent on weakening the monarchy. The investigation was concluded on October 5, and the trial was scheduled to begin on October 25. In the meantime, new suspects were discovered: Alberto Costa, Aquilino Ribeiro, Virgílio de Sá, Domingos Fernandes, among others who were in refuge in Brazil or France, while two were killed by the Carbonária to silence them.
The process itself was in vain: after the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic, judges Juiz Almeida and Azevedo delivered their report to José Barbosa (their superior) who, in turn, sent it to Afonso Costa (Minister of Justice for the Provisional Government) where it was lost. It is known that the exiled King Manuel II received a copy of the report from the judges, but these were stolen from his residence during the course of a robbery, close to his death in 1932."
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