"At 11 o'clock at night I learned that something was being prepared."

On November 15, 1889, republicans and army officers staged a coup d'état and established the republic. Dom Pedro II accepted the situation and rejected all suggestions from politicians and military leaders to quell the revolt. The emperor and his family were sent into exile on November 17.

On January 10, 1890, shortly after the Proclamation of the Republic , Prince Dom Pedro Augusto Bragança (1866-1934), grandson of Dom Pedro II and nephew of Princess Isabel, wrote an incredible 13-page letter— on mourning paper for the death of his grandmother Teresa Cristina— to Commander Oliveira Catramby. The complete transcript follows: it contains numerous interesting and previously unpublished details about this pivotal moment in Brazilian history. Enjoy your reading!

Page 01

Lisbon, January 10, 1890. Reserved.

Friend Catramby,

Her tears on the day she said goodbye to me at my house were a premonition. So much has happened, so much sadness, and so many fatal events since that date. I imagine how you must be feeling. I know you are a very good friend and share my sorrows. On the evening of November 14th, I was with your father and other friends at my house. That night, as a mere joke, I tied a Federalist ribbon to Taunay's arm that had belonged to a [mashorquedro] from Rosas. It was also an omen of bad luck, and I am not superstitious. At 11 pm I learned that something was being prepared. I slept peacefully, and with a clear conscience. clean.

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On the morning of the 15th, Francisco [Nigner] announced the revolution in the Aclamação field to me. And the newspapers of the day, already knowing everything, said little. I immediately left on foot with Boudet for Maya Monteiro's house and there I learned everything minutely and from then on I felt what this revolution was: orgy, domination, and greed, drunkenness and ultimately dictatorship. And all this in the name of freedom. I returned home on foot again, with Maya Monteiro, there I found Maya and his father, we conferred at length, they were insulting the servants of the Palace who were passing through the field. The same thing, on a larger scale, happened during the great French Revolution, which always served as a model in that it is bad , to all these republicans who want to regenerate the homeland by practicing violence and deceiving (sic!) Europe with continuous optimistic telegrams signed by Rui Barbosa, the one who advocated for the English government , the model government . Benjamin Constant doesn't surprise me. Positivists admit the absurdity that dictatorship is the pinnacle of liberalism. I suspect everyone's brain is on fire and that the [conscious] epidemic in Europe has taken on a divine aspect on Earth.

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Holy Cross. Let us, however, continue with our discretion. After a long discussion, I left. After dinner and an evening with [Bezzi] in a private car to the city palace where the Emperor, Empress, and Count d'Eu were. The city was calm, indifferent, but with this indifference that I have observed for some time, a sure sign of a stormy period. In parentheses, I will remind you of our good conversations on the bench in your garden. Do you remember that I told you about the prediction of the imminent arrival of the Republic, and you didn't want to believe it; about the infamous plan of the military wanting to take me hostage? Didn't all this come to pass, and in an even more complete and utterly unworthy way? You always told me to have complete confidence in what Dom Pedro said, and this time he was right, and rightly so. I had noticed a long time ago, and you knew it well, my state of weakness. 

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...and the abandonment into which the monarchy had fallen; the abuses that were practiced under the guise of the sovereign, and many other things besides. The army, in its lower ranks, had become... Extremely undisciplined, and the Marshal-in-Chief had zero influence... Let's move on. I slept well on the 15th and there at the Palace. I found the entire Council of State already very discouraged and tending towards decay . The Emperor alluded to completely and calmly enough to make one despair. The Empress, my good, dear one, who also foresaw this, sad, worried, and already suffering from the misfortune that had befallen her. It was the first period of my moral torments.

Sheet 04/V

What did the Senate do? What did the Chamber do? Why didn't they meet in permanent session? What was the ministry doing that declared it knew of the fact three days in advance and didn't warn the Imperial Family? What did M. Maya do, surrendering herself to the Emperor at 9 a.m. on the 15th, a census telegram known at midnight? Who was to blame? Certainly no one, and I even less so. On the morning of the 16th we were still in a position to retreat , but The Emperor did not want it. And everything was decided soon after; we were surrounded by soldiers firing shots randomly, arresting the plates of sweets that...

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They came from the kitchen, eager to kill some kind of prince to see blue blood flow. And at that moment I was calm, very calm, suffering greatly inside. Incommunicado, we received at 3 pm the eviction notice from some [Good] general with a more or less hesitant and faltering staff. All this very dignified , decent and proper to a country. civilized . Fortunately, the spitting came only from one group and a few mouths. The Emperor gives a dignified response drafted by the Baron of Loreto. The pseudo-government promises to guarantee comforts for the entire Imperial family.

Page 06

The Count d'Eu hurries in I didn't write to the government explaining the family's hardship. I wouldn't do that; he didn't act correctly. I also didn't write a farewell letter because I left against my will, not on a ship's rigging. like any warrant that goes free  And only cynical farewells. Ultimately, everyone is free to think as they wish.  On the evening of the 16th, after some more or less unknown and suspicious visits, I went to bed. At 2 a.m. on the 17th, they woke me up and announced their departure and Immediate. That's what Colonel Mallet wanted to say, warning you that there would be bloodshed if the embarkation were during the day, and because the naval, military, and polytechnic escorts were armed with machine guns. I immediately suspected it was a lie!!

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And then it was time to dispatch those baskets. By 3 o'clock we were already in a car surrounded by troops and captained by the noble Mallet, and we boarded a steam launch, always with officers with rifles at the ready, all republicans and all poorly dressed , and along with them many soldiers to give the whole thing a very spontaneous, very military air, without a hint of violence , just to guarantee lives in danger. What Tartuffes! Only the clothes remained. He whispered in his ear: “The coming monarchy has great power, Prince.” Was he shot? – It’s not surprising, I know that Aguiar de Andrada’s son, a 16-year-old boy, was dead in prison because he wasn’t a follower of that [ adhesive ]. Shortly afterwards we entered Parnahyba.  in the dark and I immediately went to the Plaza de Armas and then

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Many officers declared themselves to be very friendly , and soon after, very Imperial Marine Corps, and orders were given not to go up to the bridge, and so dawn broke. Around 9:30 my cousins ​​and Maria Scoll arrived, and then the faithful Bandet at 2:00. We set sail, I mean, we weighed anchor, as Commander Palmeira said very dryly, very [?], and also complaining about the neglect his class had suffered. The first mate, a mountain co-pilot, was also very kind and wished to see all the officers united in Europe, all very dedicated and all very republican, offering to give our instructions and last wishes . Finally, at night, followed by the Alagoas, we arrived at

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Abracuí Cove. There, in the dark, we were taken on foot, and poor Empress was screaming loudly and being carried, hoisted in a chair. All this very comfortable and very pleasant. That same night, already on the Riachuelo River, we set sail towards Fernando de Noronha.  The Riachuelo River always moving slowly, ordering me to stop. A despair, a crime, an outrage. I then began to despair and afterwards prayed things that, in particular, took an extreme turn, and I became convinced that the government's plans regarding the Imperial Family were the most unworthy .  My acute period of torture with alternative punishment began and lasted until I arrived in Lisbon on December 7, 1891. Some say that

Page 10

I was ill and feverish, and in that case I had no responsibility for what I did, and I didn't hear what I believe I heard. Officers Rangel Americo and Magalhães Castro, delegate of [?] They assure me that it was only fear and that I was only on my knees. When, however, it was also better for him, and I will tell Magalhães Castro once, outside of my [?]. This they do not recount. We agree that my fear then was not mad and without fever, and consequently I heard for days, I heard from [?] and then they are all infamous, cowardly, criminals who did not dare to obey orders received. The Riachuelo after a whole day of signals, parades and  six laps around Alagoas. Please say: Today's Resolution and disappeared and we walked away with a suspicious fury and

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It's horrible. What torment and what martyrdom. You sleep through the night and the pain...  had my time come [?] and fearing that he They did harm. They didn't tell them this, and I will continue to go through it. Everything or fear, and so the Count d'Eu and the Maltar Maior also wished it. Finally, I rested in Lisbon. On the 17th I left for Madrid, [?] and on the 28th I received news of the Empress's death, who died speaking in that same tone and in the same tone in which I had spoken on board. From Alagoas, where I employed two [veins]: tenderness or threats. I received this death because of that misgovernment. We returned to Lisbon, the funerals were on the 8th, and today we depart.

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to [Paris] and Cannes where we spent the winter. He took me to Cannes, France, Hotel Beau Le' Jour and address Mª Le Comte de Klein – Alm. because of the doubts. I would very much like to see you and see if you realize your intention to travel to Europe. It is to be hoped that I may also see you again in Brazil, when the unworthy decree of banishment is lifted, or when things change – once again , as is certain, unless the whole family first goes through the practical process for better security for the nascent republic. And that represents the

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National opinion is overwhelming. Please also tell me if you believe the person writing this is crazy. I am absolutely certain of the opposite, and always remember your...  Dom Pedro Augusto Bragança was a very good friend of mine.

P.S. What happened to França Junior? I never saw him again. He was... Show up. 

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