Bloody Night

Bloody Night (Portuguese: Noite Sangrenta) is the name by which the radical revolt that took place in Lisbon, on the night of 19 October 1921, became known. During the Bloody Night, amongst others, were murdered then-Head of Government António Granjo; politician Machado Santos and José Carlos da Maia (both of them were part of the 5 October 1910 revolution that established the Portuguese First Republic); secretary to the Minister of the Navy, commander Freitas da Silva; and colonel Botelho de Vasconcelos, supporter of Sidónio Pais.

This insurrection took place on the night of 19 October 1921 (a few days after the eleventh anniversary of the "Proclamation of the Republic"), when a group of armymen uprose against the dismissal of the Government headed by Liberato Pinto, protector of the Guarda Nacional Republicana (Republican National Guard). The upheaval culminated in the Bloody Night, the murder of some of the most influential figures of the Republic. The upheaval was headed by colonel Manuel Maria Coelho, and he was joined by Camilo de Oliveira and Cortês dos Santos (both G.N.R. officers) and captain Procópio de Freitas.

With no possibility of resistance, the Government headed by António Granjo presented its resignation to António José de Almeida (then-President of the Republic). Granjo hid in Francisco Pinto da Cunha Leal's house, who was close to the revolutionary movement. When the firebrands found him, they took him to the Navy Arsenal (the revolutionary headquarters) and shot him dead. The very same happened to other important Republican figures, such as Machado Santos, José Carlos da Maia and Botelho de Vasconcelos, all kidnapped by a "ghost truck" that drove across Lisbon that night.