Portugal, Republic, 50 Centavos – 1926

Description

In 1910 after the October 5 revolution, the First Portuguese Republic was constituted. It was a time of continuous instability and political crisis that ended with the military coup of 1926 and the subsequent dictatorship. The beginning of the Republic was deeply anticlerical causing the split of the conservative wing of the Republican party. The lack of democratic tradition made the opposition to the Republic normally responded with violence. In any case, the economic crisis was permanent and the entry into World War I in 1916 (for the capture of German ships in Portuguese ports) only increased this problem, because the country was not prepared. This caused the blow that would lead to Sidonio Pais to be present (president-real in the mouth of Pessoa) in 1917, of a quite dictatorial cut, with numerous decrees without consulting with the congress. He restored relations with the Holy See, which gave him enough popularity among Catholics. Since April 1918 when the situation in the war worsened for Portugal, the situation became quite unsustainable with constant insurrections, which led to declare the state of emergency. Sidonio suffered two almost followed attacks, the second of which killed him. After the death of the populist leader, stability became impossible, and there was a brief monarchical restoration in the north of the country, controlled in just over a month. The following elections were won again by the Republican party, but stability was not achieved by any way, which in the mid -20 return social peace. Finally, on May 28, 1926, the military revolt would take place that would establish a dictatorship, although maintaining the Republic. The military did not know how to stabilize the economy, and called Salazar, a professor of economy of the Catholic environment, who had written collaborations for magazines with economic proposals. In 1928 he accepted the position of Minister of Finance, when Portugal was again on the verge of bankruptcy and with the promise that any expense of all ministries could veto. In a year the budget stabilized. About to resign in 1929, he did not increase his power. Little by little, in a military dictatorship without clear leadership, it became the key person who controlled all threads from the Ministry of Finance. Thus, in 1933 a new Constitution would be prepared that would shape the state of Novo, already to the extent of Salazar. The monetary system of the Republic abandoned the system based on reais, and adopted the shield as a monetary unit. With bronze and silver coinage, other metals were used during World War I.