On August 19, 1879, Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, was plunged into chaos by a sudden military coup.

Only a few key elements learned of the military coup d'état plotted by Fonseca and others, and the vast majority of middle- and lower-level officers and soldiers only mechanically obeyed the orders of their superiors and gathered from their respective camps to the city of Rio de Janeiro.

More than a dozen important institutions, including the Imperial Cabinet Parliament Building, the Royal Palace, the Royal Army General Staff, the National Information Bureau, and the Central Bank, were attacked by the coup soldiers, and the military police, who did not know the truth, and some of the guards loyal to the Imperial Government dutifully guarded the various institutions, and engaged in fierce firefights with the soldiers pouring out of the city.

At 1:18 p.m., the coup soldiers occupied the National Information Bureau and the Post Office, and all the external contacts and propaganda channels in the city of Rio de Janeiro fell under the control of Fonseca and others, and shot and killed several news editors who refused to cooperate in public, Fonseca and Peshoto led an army to support the battle in the direction of the palace and the Cabinet building, while Morais sat in the press bureau and declared a decisive victory of the republican revolution in the name of the republican leader, and Pedro II and a small number of royalist troops were surrounded by the coup army. The corrupt and incompetent imperial government is about to collapse, and the military in Rio de Janeiro and across Brazil should follow the republican government's instructions to expel and arrest die-hard royalists.

The temporary printing of newspapers and leaflets was widely distributed by the republicans and democrats, so that the guards and soldiers scattered in various government agencies gradually gave up their resistance, and one government office after another fell into the hands of the coup army, at this time, most of the officials who were inclined to the democratic republic and were disappointed with the incompetence of Pedro II, were quickly co-opted by Morais to the side of the coup forces, and then immediately after, these officials, who only verbally declared allegiance to the republican government, were immediately reinstated, and even promoted several ranks. Engage in the operation to take control of the administrative operations of Rio de Janeiro.

At 3:27 p.m., Fonseca and other coup parties had an advantage that became more and more obvious, and Atrenotta, sensing the change in the situation, immediately announced that the Rio de Janeiro city defense army would accept the leadership of the republican government, and 4,000 city defense troops would join the coup army and swear an oath against the royalist army.

More than 2,000 Brazilian troops hastily assembled by Admiral García were unable to break through to the front line of the palace, and scattered the royalist military forces in the city, because they had not been able to restore contact with Pedro II, and were defeated and absorbed by the defective city defense forces one by one.

Outside the walls of the palace, troops from the coup side were stationed in every direction, and when the last of the guards, still loyal to the Brazilian Empire, escorted Pedro II and Baron Muritba to the back gate of the garden, they were faced with more than 3,000 coup troops waiting for them.

Most of the two armies inside and outside the palace were comrades-in-arms and friends who originally belonged to the same battle sequence, but because of the political differences of the superior officers and their own political beliefs, they became opposing enemies.

The back door of the garden was the closest access to the palace, and in order to break out of the encirclement of the coup army, Baron Muritba personally commanded his army to attack.

The sound of gunfire and fighting was continuous, and the guards loyal to Pedro II's side shouted and rushed towards the city gate, and rows of soldiers fell in the open space outside the city gate, passing through the line broken by the victims, and the soldiers of the Guards in the garden took desperate steps to start a face-to-face battle with the coup army at the foot of the city gate.

The narrow back door was filled with the corpses of the dead, and the blood flowed down the thin drainage channel into the garden full of golden tulips, leaving a strange blood red in the noble and elegant tulip roots.

When Baron Muribat personally led the army to launch the fourth attack, there were less than 700 surviving Guards soldiers, and the soldiers on their own side were fighting less and less, and hearing the fierce fighting sound from the back door of the garden, more and more coup soldiers flocked to Pedro II's position, and the enemy's defense line did not relax and routed, and the stubborn attack continued, and the remaining 700 tons of men would soon be exhausted.

Baron Muribat, who had no hope of breaking through, painfully told Pedro II of the predicament they faced.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, to tell you the unfortunate news that the rebels have occupied the walls of the back gate of the garden, and our army has not been able to break through the rebel lines."

"Where are the city defenders? Why didn't General Atrenotta lead the city defense army to reinforce the palace? ”

Pedro II panicked.

"Atrenotta has betrayed His Majesty, he has already taken the city defense army to join the rebels, and the first to rush to the back gate of the garden to reinforce the rebels is his city defense army!"

A Guards officer said angrily.

"Admiral Garcia? Yes, General Garcia is a famous imperial general, and he will definitely be able to defeat the rebels! ”

"Your Majesty, it's hopeless, the rebels outside are rumoring that General Garcia was shot and killed while commanding the army to fight in order to save Your Majesty!"

"How could General Garcia die? No one in the Imperial army was able to defeat General Garcia! ”

Pedro II is like a poor drowning man, clinging to the last straw and unable to accept the cruel truth for a while.

"General Garcia can't be defeated by the rebels so easily, and there are many generals and officials loyal to the empire in the city of Rio de Janeiro, they know that Your Majesty is surrounded by rebels in the palace, and they will definitely rescue Your Majesty at any cost!"

Baron Muribat resolutely spoke out to stop the frustration spreading among the remnants of the army, encouraging him: "Lieutenant Colonel Ebel, Duke Frobert, the Prime Minister of the Reich, and His Excellency the Minister of Finance are all loyal servants of the Reich, and they will not remain indifferent to the rebels carrying out a coup d'état. ”

"Yes, yes, yes!" Pedro II's depressed eyes suddenly showed a glimmer of hope: "The nobles and officials of the central government have the wealth of power bestowed by the empire, and they will not allow the empire to be divided and destroyed by the rebels!" ”

After being persuaded by Baron Muribat, Pedro II summoned up the courage and led the last 700 or so Guards soldiers to retreat to the only palace in the palace that was not occupied by the rebels, the Santo Tocos Ford Palace, where he prepared to hold out until the arrival of the royalist army.

As night fell, the gunfire in Rio de Janeiro gradually subsided, and the royalist reinforcements that Pedro II had been waiting for were unable to meet them at the palace.

The rebels outside sent many representatives of the former Imperial Diet and military officers into the Santo Cocos Ford Palace to persuade Pedro II to give up resistance and surrender.

"Your Majesty, for the sake of the future of Mother Brazil, for the sake of you and the glory of your family, please accept the will of the people, give up resistance, and with the noble dignity of the Emperor of Brazil, stop this senseless bloodshed and sacrifice."

"Does the empire have to be destroyed? If I agree to abdicate, will you be able to allow Isabella to take over the throne of the Brazilian Empire? ”

Pedro II was disheartened and unwilling to make the last effort: "Isabella is a benevolent and sincere crown prince, and the Brazilian Empire needs a benevolent and excellent empress to heal the wounds of war, and I pray that you will give Isabella a chance, and she will make a good emperor who is favored by Brazilians." ”

"You are the last emperor of Brazil, from today onwards, there will be no more emperors in Brazil, Your Majesty, your time is running out, if you don't give a clear answer, in 10 minutes, the army from outside will force in, and the safety of you and your family will not be guaranteed by the republican government at that time."

The republican representatives were aggressive, not giving Pedro II a chance to compromise at all, time passed minute by minute, ten minutes were about to pass, when the republican representatives turned around and were about to step out of the palace, Pedro II compromised, for the sake of his own life and his family, he chose to give up the title of Emperor of the Brazilian Empire, and signed his name on the last edict printed with the coat of arms of the Brazilian Empire, since then, the Brazilian Empire, which has been inherited for two generations and fifty-seven years, officially ushered in the end.