On October 13, 1909, Francesc Ferrer i Guardia was shot at Montjuïc Castle. A military court had sentenced him to death, accusing him, without any evidence, of having instigated the riots of Tragic Week, the Barcelona uprising sparked by the decision of Maura, then Prime Minister, to call up reservists to fight the Rif in the Rif region. Most of the reservists were elderly, fathers of humble origins, and they refused to accept this decision. The fighting was fierce: nearly 100 people died—most of them civilians—around 2,000 were imprisoned, and five were shot. One of them was Ferrer i Guardia, to make an example of punishment.