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On Monday morning, second of May, 1808 two large crowds had gathered
in Madrid; one outside the city post office in the Puerta del Sol and
the other by the main gate of the Royal Palace where royal carriages
waited to take the last of the Bourbons off into exile. Suddenly a
young boy appeared from a balcony window, he was the last of the male
heir to the Spanish throne, Francisco de Paula. Either his appearance
or the fact he was crying sparked off the riot that would signal a
national uprising against the French. Knives were drawn and the French
soldiers there butchered. marshal Murat heard the commotion from his
nearby residence and ordered the cavalry to charge into the mob. At
the Montelban barrack two Spanish officers ordered cannon to be turned
on their erstwhile allies. The War of Independence had begun!
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The Dos May, 1808
Francisco de Goya
Museo del Prado, Madrid |
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