Attempted assassination of Pedro II of Brazil
Attempted assassination of Pedro II of Brazil
On the night of July 15, 1889, in Constitution Square (now Tiradentes Square) in Rio de Janeiro, Emperor Pedro II was returning by carriage to the Imperial Palace after a concert at Teatro Sant’Anna. A 20-year-old Portuguese immigrant and unemployed clerk, Adriano Augusto do Valle, fired a revolver at the emperor’s carriage while shouting praise for the republic. The shots missed, and the carriage continued to the palace. Do Valle was later arrested in a bar, boasting that he had shot at Pedro II and would do it again. He died on March 30, 1903, of tuberculosis, at Miracema, aged 36.
Do Valle had no known connection to the Brazilian republican movement. The attack was condemned by Republican leaders and newspapers, and it sparked controversy over immigration in Brazil during the 1880s. The Portuguese ambassador to Brazil called a meeting to discuss the incident, and Portuguese associations expressed repudiation, while the board of the Portuguese Literary Lyceum stated its disagreement with the act.
The attack is known in Brazil as the July Attack (Atentado de Julho).
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:11 (CET).