Brazilian history

Discussion in 'Brazil NSR' started by Emperor Adriano, Apr 30, 2016.

  1. Emperor Adriano

    Emperor Adriano Member+

    Jun 17, 2009
    Utica NY (the refugee city)
    Club:
    Santos FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    might as well kick this thread of with my obscure take on the pernambucan revolt. My footnotes don't show up in the copy and paste but if anyone has any questions where I got the info feel free
    John Lawson

    Colonialism in the Carribean

    Research Paper

    4/25/2016


    Building a National Identity: Race and Nationalism in Pernambuco


    In this paper I argue that the Pernambucan Revolt was extremely influential to the development of an independent Brazil without colonial rule but more importantly the events surrounding the revolt helped shape the culture and national identity of Brazilians. Race was apart of this development and many escaped slaves and former slaves took part in the revolt in search of a better life. Liberal ideas stemming from the French revolution served as motivation and a benchmark for the society the people wanted. Some elites also took part due to the harsh taxation imposed by the Portuguese Colonial authorities. Landowners were often willing to fight and the famine of 1816 endangered the economy because it killed sugar production, which was the areas main economic resource. There were church leaders like Frei Canecawhoalsotook part in the revolution. Contrary to many portrayals this revolution was not just a revolution about race or elites versus poor; it was far more complicated than that. Leaders like Domingos Jorge Martins who was a mestizo used race to recruit and motivate his followers but from all accounts there were whites amongst his followers. The biggest factor of this revolution was not race but it was the desire to break away from Portuguese colonial rule and the revolution continued once a Brazilian monarchial government was put in place. While the revolution ended in defeat, the ideas of the revolution lived on and were instrumental in turning Brazil from a monarchy to a republic.

    Tensions started in 1814 when governor Caetano Pinto De Miranda Montenegro heard rumors of a slave rebellion in the state of Pernambuco. Revolutions and rebellions in Haiti and in the nearby state of Bahia made Montenegroand other elites worried about slave uprisings. Once he heard of the rebellion he quickly mobilized the police force and arrested seventeen black men and women before it began. What made this event significant was the governor ended up banning gatherings of blacks. At night this new law was rigidly enforced. This type of overreaction and show of absolute power was the starting point for tensions in the region. The absolute power of the monarchial government served as a rallying cry and recruitment tool for the revolutionaries throughout the Pernambuco revolution and beyond.

    There were other laws and regulations that made the people of Pernambuco clamor for change. If you could not read or write you were not allowed to vote. This disenfranchised a very large segment of the population because at the time most non-elites could not read or write. According to the Brazilian historian Luiz Geraldo Silva in 1810 Pernambuco had a population of 391,986. Forty two percent declared themselves as black or mulatto. During this time period some white elites referred to the blacks as the “population”, which drew a clear line between races. One incident that caused tensions to rise was when a black soldier punched a white soldier in one of Montenegro’s military regiments. The punch was thrown because the white soldier made a comment disparaging Brazilians. Certainly, race probably played a factor in the incident but more importantly it showed a sense of Brazilian nationalism and pride developing. Some whites at the time considered themselves Portuguese and referring to the black people in Pernambuco as the “population” is an example. This also shows another theme of the Pernambucan revolt, the mistrust and lack of acknowledgement of Portuguese rule. Brazilian society and culture was developing. An anti- colonial and Portuguese attitude was apart of the formation. It is easy to assume the power structure of the time was extremely threatened by the idea of people feeling Brazilian.

    The revolution began on March, 6, 1817. Many joined the revolution to try and fix the issues that were negatively affecting their lives. The sugar crop and industry started to backfire on Pernambuco. A drought and other competition from the global sugar marketplace were hurting the economy in all classes. Many elites felt the monarchy unfairly targeted the Pernambuco state to pay more than it’s fair share in taxes; this is one reason why some elites started throwing their lot in with the revolutionaries and liberal thinkers of the time. For the common person at the time the economic situation hurt them quite a bit. They also felt they were unfairly taxed, they felt disenfranchised,and they were also hungry due to the bad growing seasons. According to a witness on March 6th, 1817 there were around four hundred soldiers who were almost naked who were armed with rifles and swords. Some did not have shoes, some looked hungry, and there were all different races. The leader of this group that the witness saw was Domingos Jose Martins , a white man who was inspired by liberal ideas such as equality which stemmed from the French Revolution and Europe. Domingos Jose Martins ability to inspire and recruit is another example of how this revolution transcended race.

    To counteract the revolution the captain general and new Governor Luiz Do Rego ordered harsh punishments against rebels. For everyday soldiers or rebels the punishment would normally consist of lashings. If you happened to be a leader than the punishment would be extremely harsh. Revolutionaries such as Domingos Jose Martins, Pedro De Sousa Tenorio, and Jose Luiz De Medonga, and most famously Frei Caneca would all face death; usually by hanging. After death the revolutionary’s hands would be cut off and their heads severed. Horses would then drag the body parts to the cemetery. These heinous acts were done by the government to intimidate the populace and to try and maintain their absolute authority.

    These acts of rebellion ended up resulting in a significant day in Brazilian history, which is known as DiaDo Fico. On January 9th, 1822 Prince Regent Pedro De Alcantra refused to sail back to Portugal. He saw the opportunity to turn Brazil into an independent monarchy and he would have to cut ties with his family in Portugal to make this happen. This created a lot of tension between Brazil and Portugal. Brazilian liberals of the time were the ones pushing for Pedro to stay, they even raised a large amount of signatures. Pedro was no Brazilian nationalist but he was not helpful to Portugueese interests in the region. Essentially the moment he refused to sail back to Portugal was when Brazilian independence started. On September 7th, 1822 it was made official, Brazil was now independent from Portugal. As mentioned earlier in this paper this was also a result of some of the elites throwing their lot in against the Portuguese monarchy.

    Many historians would say the Pernambuco revolt was over by 1818 but the effects were long lasting and this paper tries to prove how much it influenced the development of Brazilian nationalism and how that lead to many other revolts. Some other important events that illustrate this are the Pedrosada conflict and the incident at Sitio De Pedra. One way that the Pernambucan revolt lived on was in rural settlements. These rural enclaves had characteristics of maroon and quilombo societies. The society was made up of farmers, escaped slaves, militiamen who deserted both the old monarchy government and some from Pedro’s new government, fugitives, and people of all races, which is something unique to Brazil. Many people would bring their families to these independent minded communities. The community of Sitio De Pedra was very successful in the agriculture sector. Soon the government would eventually break the community up by force; which was not uncommon and was another reason Brazilians continued to revolt and have revolutionary ideas even after independence from Portugal. The Pedrosada event was something that also scared the current power structure of the government. Pedro Da Silva was a mestizo who had phenomenal motivational skills. Most of his followers were black, this is what made him so dangerous to the power structure, along with his previous military experience. Pedroso spoke to the idea of exclusion in Brazilian society and it culminated in a vicious riot in 1823. Once again the government squashed it but not before it won hearts and minds, especially the hearts and minds of the black people in Brazil. To paraphrase the historian Jeffrey Mosher these numerous uprisings proved that the military would have to play a big role in order to maintain order. The government army was often disorganized and disillusioned. The barracks revolts and officers’ revolts inPernambucoin 1831 are a good example of how long the ideas that sparked the Pernambucano revolt lived on.

    The Pernambucan revolt was also known as the Revolution of priests. One reason why was due to FreiCaneca who helped form the confederation of the equator in 1823, carrying on the ideas from the Pernambucanrevolt. The church is a big part of Brazilian culture to this day and we can see how the church played a role in the revolutionary ideas of this time period. Churches in Pernambucowould use cachaca instead of wine and a wafer in church made of manioc instead of wheat.; both were symbols of rebellion against their colonial overlords but also proof a new culture was developing. Another important aspect of the revolt and the formation of a Pernambucano identity was the flag. The flag was adopted during the seventy-four days of independence and banded together regions like Alagoas, Paraiba, and Rio Grande Norte. The flag is still an important symbol until this day and is the flag of the state of Pernambucano. The biggest soccer team in Recife, Sport Recife, is nicknamed the lions, which also stems from the Pernambucan revolt. The Pernambucan revolt even had diplomatic relations with other countries. Antonio Goncalves went to Philadelphia in 1817 to try and garner American support for the revolution. Before weapons could be brought back the revolt was crushed but as this paper tries to prove the revolt did not end when the Pernambucan revolt “officially” ended, it carried on for years. The revolutionary ideas spread across the north of Brazil like wildfire and they even inspired similar revolts as far south as Rio De Janeiro.

    In conclusion, the Pernambucan revolt was far more than a regional uprising; it was a set of ideas that spread throughout the nation of Brazil. Many people elite and poor just wanted a system that was fair. Throughout this revolt you saw a wide and diverse group of followers. Followers of the revolt ranged from educated white elites, poor whites, escaped slaves, free blacks, and even collaborators from different countries. In this paper we see that the failings of the sugar crop wasn’t the biggest reason for the revolt, although it served as a catalyst and helped bring some elites to the side. Throughout this paper I have used the words revolt and revolution. Many consider the Pernambucan revolt just a small event, but it lead to the formation and revolution of political and also cultural norms that are present in Brazil to this day. It’s influence should be examined.
     
    samuel_clemens and MerlinRM repped this.
  2. Emperor Adriano

    Emperor Adriano Member+

    Jun 17, 2009
    Utica NY (the refugee city)
    Club:
    Santos FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    #2 Emperor Adriano, Apr 30, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2016
    And the copy/ paste mashed some of my words together and I'm far to lazy to go back and edit and I rolled with sport As the biggest team in Recife because it fit with the papers narrative. I already knew century would read it than bust my balls about that lol.
     

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