File No. 853.00/111.
Minister Gage to the Secretary of State.
Lisbon, October 10, 1910.
Sir: I have the honor to report that the civil war which overturned the monarchy began in the streets of Lisbon at 5.30 a.m., October 4, 1910, and ended about 10 o’clock a.m. upon the 5th instant, at which time the last of the royal forces engaged in the battle surrendered to the insurgents. Almost immediately thereafter, upon the same day, the formation of a Provisional Republican Government became an accomplished fact.
The revolution was perfectly planned and carried to success in every detail with great celerity, so much so that before 7 o’clock p.m. of the day of said surrender the Provisional Government was in the possession of the full machinery of Government and transmitting notes in the usual way to all of the ministers resident here in regard to the governmental crisis.
As early as 7 o’clock of that evening I received from the foreign office a note, a copy and a translation of which are herewith inclosed, giving the names of the appointed officers, etc., of the new government. There has been no pillaging, and good order has prevailed. The King has fled the country, the Republican Provisional Government is supreme in Portugal, and the people have acquiesced in the change.
I believe that the newly organized power is capable of maintaining itself, and that it will continue to keep a place as a nation.
The foregoing somewhat brief summary, taken in connection with my telegrams, presents the essential facts of the situation.
I have, etc.,