卡努杜斯农民起义

历史

卡努杜斯居民之大多为印第安人和混血种人，他们以农牧业为生，而且他们的农作物的四分之三要交给庄园主。1893年，巴西合众国政府向当地居民发布征税令，结果当地人民焚毁征税令，并且与巴伊亚州的警察发生冲突。截至1897年1月，卡努杜斯反对巴西当局的武装已达3万人，并占领了60个地主庄园。巴西当局共出兵4次，前3次被反政府武装击溃。1897年6月中旬，政府发动第四次围剿，国防部长到前线亲自督战。10月5日，政府军攻入卡努杜斯，将其夷为平地，并屠杀了当地居民。卡努杜斯农民起义被镇压。

The War of Canudos (Portuguese: Guerra de Canudos, pronounced [ˈɡɛʁɐ dʒi kɐˈnudus]) was a conflict between the First Brazilian Republic and the residents of Canudos in the northeastern state of Bahia, between 1896 and 1897. It was waged in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery in Brazil and the overthrow of the monarchy. The conflict arose from a millenarian cult led by Antônio Conselheiro, who began attracting attention around 1874 by preaching spiritual salvation to the poor population of the sertão, a region which suffered from severe droughts. Conselheiro and his followers came into conflict with the local authorities after founding the village of Canudos. The situation soon escalated, with Bahia's government requesting assistance from the federal government, who sent military expeditions against the settlement.

Antônio Conselheiro and his followers were branded as "monarchists" by the press, with the authorities seeing the settlement as a threat to the recently proclaimed Brazilian Republic, which was still in process of consolidating itself. Rumors spread that the inhabitants of Canudos were planning to "depose the new Republican government" and "restore the monarchy." The inhabitants of Canudos were "so numerous, employed such artful strategies and so committed" that it took four military campaigns to defeat them. Despite the government's troops employing modern weapons against the poorly armed and organized Conselheiristas, the first three expeditions resulted in failure, including the death of Colonel Moreira César, which harmed the government's image and alarmed public opinion.

Background

The conflict had its origins in the former settlement of Canudos (named Belo Monte by its inhabitants, meaning "Beautiful Hill" in Portuguese) in the semi-arid backcountry (or sertão) of Bahia. In the late 19th century, the region suffered from poverty, with an economy based on subsistence agriculture and cattle raising, severely lacking infrastructure.……

Military campaigns

Initial military campaign

The incident that served as the catalyst for Canudos’ eventual destruction was a dispute over delivery of lumber. Conselheiro had placed an order of wood from a business in the neighboring town of Juazeiro he often did business with to construct a new church. However, a new local judge, Arlindo Leoni, opposed Conselheiro and prevented the delivery. Some Canudenses then took it upon themselves to go to Juazeiro to claim the wood.……

Aftermath

It was eventually determined that Antônio Conselheiro himself had likely died of dysentery on 22 September. Before Canudos was burned down and dynamited, Conselheiro's body was exhumed, the head was removed, and it was "displayed on a pike" to be "held high at the front of a military parade for all to see." According to Peter Robb, it "was taken to the Medical Faculty of Bahia to be studied for abnormalities." When all resistance ceased and "peace" was restored, only 150 survivors remained.

Canudos today

Although the original town of Canudos has been covered by the reservoir of the Cocorobó Dam, built by the military regime in the 1960s, the Canudos State Park, established in 1986, preserves many of the important sites and serves as a monument to the war. The stated purpose of the park is "to make it impossible to forget the martyrs led by Antônio Conselheiro".

Media

Guerra de Canudos (The Battle of Canudos). Motion picture directed by Sérgio Rezende, with José Wilker, Cláudia Abreu, Paulo Betti, and Marieta Severo. Brazil, 1997.

Sobreviventes – Os Filhos da Guerra de Canudos (Survivors, the Children of the War of Canudos). Documentary film by Paulo Fontenelle, Brazil, 2007.

Canudos. Documentary film by Ipojuca Pontes, with Walmor Chagas, Brazil, 1978.

War of Canudos in Brazil. Documentary radio broadcast, BBC World Service. Mon 9 June 2014 07:50 GMT.