ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the twentieth century Portugal was ruled by an authoritarian monarchy. This was, however, overthrown in 1910, to be replaced by a republic which, in 1911, introduced a democratic constitution with a two-chamber parliament, direct suffrage, and an executive with limited powers. Overall, the new regime was by far the most progressive in Portugal’s history. Unfortunately, it was also inherently unstable. The sophisticated political system proved inappropriate to a society which was one of the most backward in Europe and in which 70 per cent of the people were illiterate. As in many other parts of Europe democracy foundered on political instability. During the sixteen years of the republic’s existence there were nine presidents, forty-four governments, twenty-five uprisings and three temporary dictatorships.1
