Telegram announcing the attack on Dom Pedro II (1889)

In July 1889, Dom Pedro II suffered an assassination attempt.

Handwritten telegram from the President of the Province to the Council. One page. 22cm x 29.5cm. In Portuguese. Ouro Preto, July 16, 1889. Average condition, some wear on the edges. Unique piece.

July 16, 1889
Deslins Station

To the President of the Province
Telegrams Remittance Included
scary attack Emperor
There was just a shot fired
by an imprisoned foreigner. Manifest
warm tions Emperor Citizen-
calmly

Ouro Preto Presidency
you to the Council

A word about Deslins Telegraphos Station: it was a telegraph station that existed in Brazil during the imperial period. It was located on Rua do Ouvidor, in the center of Rio de Janeiro, and was named after its director, engineer Deslins.

At the time, the telegraph was an important means of communication, allowing the rapid transmission of messages over distances. The Deslins Telegraphos Station was part of the telegraph network that connected several Brazilian cities, contributing to the improvement of communications in the country.

With the proclamation of the Republic in 1889, the station began to be managed by the new government. It continued to operate for several years, until it was deactivated at the beginning of the 20th century, when new communication technologies began to emerge. Nowadays, there are no traces of the telegraph station left in the place where it was located.

What happened in July 1889?

Researcher and historian Roberto Michetti Moreira is writing a book about the life of Dom Pedro II, told in the first person, but based on true facts. Roberto kindly agreed to share with us the excerpt about the event that interests us here:

If I can call it an attack, or simply an untimely and inconsequential attitude. But anyway, I remember the day very well. It was Sunday, July 14, 1889. On the centenary of the Fall of the Bastille.

On that occasion, I went to the Teatro de Sant'Anna, in the company of my grandson Pedro Augusto, my daughter Isabel and Teresa, who, in addition to Molière's play, Escola de Maridos, wanted to honor her Neapolitan compatriot, the little violin concertist, Giuletta Dionesi .

So far so good. The problem was at the exit. It was around midnight. We were in the lobby when, amidst shouts of cheers for the republic, a general commotion began. After getting into the coach and heading towards the city hall, we were shot right in front of the trendy Maison Modérne restaurant.

It almost missed my grandson and, thanks to the good father, no one was hit. Honestly, I didn't expect that one. Throughout my reign, nothing like this had ever happened. But in the end, the person who fired the shots managed to escape and, in the midst of the search, he ended up being captured and arrested. He was a young Portuguese man. If I remember correctly, a certain Adriano Augusto do Valle.

Little known to the public, this event could have been tragic for Dom Pedro II and Brazil, which makes this telegram a very interesting piece.