Madrid, Spain: Monumento al Pueblo del Dos de Mayo de 1808

You'd expect that a monument placed in Madrid's most important square would mark an event of great historical importance to the people of Spain. The Monumento al Pueblo del Dos de May de 1808 qualifies.

It commemorates the uprising against French rule on May 2, 1808. Here the Spanish patriots are shown clashing with the French forces, who were in the process of taking control of the region. This did not end well for the Spanish side, who were more or less massacred in the fighting.There were hundreds of executions of the natives. 

The second of May is a holiday in Madrid, and there are other memorials through the area. I'd expect a few more frills to the memorial under the circumstances, but it's hard to argue with the location.