History of Portugal (1834–1910)
Militant Republicans and their allies in the Carbonária were not willing to remain in the shadows of the constitutional monarchy. Between 4–5 October 1910, members of the Carbonária, republican youth, and elements of the army instigated a coup d'état against the already weak constitutional monarchy. The young king and his family, after a few miscues, escaped from the Palace in Mafra to exile in England. On the morning of 5 October 1910, the Republic was declared from the balcony of Lisbon City Hall, ending eight centuries of monarchy in Portugal.
Processo Revolucionário Em Curso
Portugal's earlier experience with democracy before the Carnation Revolution of 1974 was contentious and short-lived. The First Republic took power in 1910 from a monarchy in decline and itself lasted only sixteen years until 1926. Under the Republic, parliamentary institutions worked poorly, and political and economic power remained concentrated. Corruption and economic mismanagement were widespread. The Republican leadership took Portugal into World War I with significant expenditure and loss of life. A military coup d'état ended the First Republic in 1926. This was the beginning of a dictatorship that evolved into the Estado Novo regime.