General Deodoro da Fonseca and General Floriano Peixoto placed
themselves at the head of the military malcontents, and it became clear
to the inhabitants of Brazil that a crisis was not far off. On November
14, 1889, some fifteen months after the Emperor had returned to his
country, the Imperial residence at Petropolis was surrounded by
soldiers, while the palace at Rio was taken possession of by other
troops.
The revolution was conducted in the simplest fashion. Beyond the arrest
of the Emperor and the wounding of the Baron de Ladario, the solitary
Minister who resisted, nothing happened--nothing, that is to say, of a
dramatic nature. Indeed, after the arrest, the chief work of the
revolutionists appears to have lain in the obliteration of Imperial
badges and the cutting out of similar tokens from their uniforms and
flags. The main population of the country appears to have regarded the
change with a most complete indifference.
Dom Pedro's personality appears to have retained somewhat of its
popularity up to the very last. He was sent to Portugal a few days after
the successful revolt, it is true, but it seems that this move was taken
rather because it appeared to be the traditional and proper thing to do
than from any dread of plotting on the part of the deposed monarch, who
was allowed to retain the whole of his property.
Pages:
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309