Carlos I of Portugal
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Carlos I (pronounced [ˈkaɾɫuʃ]; Eng. Charles), the Diplomat (also known as the Martyr) (Port.O Diplomata and o Martirizado) - (Lisbon, September 28, 1863 - Lisbon, February 1, 1908) named Carlos Fernando Luís Maria Victor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis José Simão de Bragança Sabóia Bourbon e Saxe-Coburgo-Gota was the 33rd (or 34th or 35th according to some historians) and penultimate King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the first Portuguese king to die of violent death after Sebastian of Portugal (1578), in 1908, when he was murdered in Lisbon when he travelled in an open carriage with the royal family.
[edit] Early lifeHe was born in Lisbon, Portugal, the son of King Luís and Princess Maria Pia of Savoy, daughter of Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy. He had a brother, Infante Afonso, Duke of Porto. His paternal first cousins included (among others) Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony, Prince Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Ferdinand I of Romania. His maternal first cousins included (among others) Napoléon Victor Bonaparte, Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta, Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Turin, Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, Umberto, Count of Salemi. He had an intense education and was prepared to rule as a constitutional monarch. In 1883 he traveled to Italy, England, France and Germany where he increased his knowledge of the modern civilization of his time. In 1883, 1886 and 1888 he ruled as regent as his father was traveling in Europe, as it became tradition among the Portuguese constitutional kings. His father Luis I advised him to be modest and to study with focus. His first bridal candidate was one of the daughters of Frederick III, German Emperor, but the issue of religion presented an insurmountable problem and the pressure of British diplomacy prevented the marriage. He then met Amélie of Orléans, whose hands other royals had tried to get. This time the marriage was successful. [edit] King of PortugalCarlos became King on October 19, 1889. An intelligent but vastly extravagant man, Carlos's policies, perceived wastefulness and extramarital affairs effectively sealed the fate of the Portuguese monarchy. Colonial treaties with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (one signed in August 1890 that defined their African borders along the Zambezi and Congo rivers and another signed on October 14, 1899, that confirmed colonial treaties of the 17th Century) stabilised the situation in Africa. Domestically, Portugal was twice declared bankrupt - on June 14, 1892, and again on May 10, 1902 - causing industrial disturbances, socialist and republican antagonism and press criticism of the monarchy. Carlos responded by appointing João Franco as prime minister and subsequently accepting parliament's dissolution. 
On February 1, 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Almada and, from there, took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked in Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the carriage with Carlos I and his family passed through Terreiro do Paço. While crossing the square, shots were fired from the crowd by at least two men: Alfredo Costa and Manuel Buiça. The king died immediately, his heir Luís Filipe was mortally wounded, and Prince Manuel was hit in the arm. The assassins were shot on the spot by members of the bodyguard and later recognized as members of the Republican Party. About twenty minutes later, Prince Luis Filipe died and days later, Manuel was acclaimed king of Portugal, the last of the Braganza dynasty. [edit] Marriage and childrenCarlos was married to Princess Amélie of Orléans in 1886. She was daughter of Philippe, Comte de Paris and Marie Isabelle d'Orléans. Their children were
A woman known as Hilda Toledano claimed fraudlently (many years after his death) that she was the illegitimate daughter of Carlos I by Maria Amélia Laredo e Murça. Her claims are regarded as a absurd and a complete hoax. 
[edit] Influence on Jack LondonJack London's science fiction story "The Enemy of All the World", published less than five years after the assassination of King Carlos I (see [1]), included a fictional account of an assassination of the King and Queen of Portugal, directly after their marriage, set in 1933 - then a future date - and evidently inspired by the recent actual assassination:
[edit] Ancestors
[edit] References
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