What was the Revolt of the Farrapos?
THE Revolt of the Farrapos happened in Rio Grande do Sul during the Governing Period, from 1835 to 1845, therefore, it extended to part of the second reign. Despite the long duration of this revolt (ten years), the fighting was of low intensity and concentrated in cavalry clashes that resulted in 3,000 deaths.
This number of deaths is seen by historians as low, if compared to other similar movements that took place in Brazil in the same period. THE cabin, for example, which took place in the province of Grão-Pará from 1835 to 1840, resulted in 30 thousand deaths, and Balaiada, which took place in Maranhão from 1838 to 1841, caused 12 thousand deaths.
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What were the causes that led to the beginning of this revolt?
The Farrapos Revolt was a elite movement, and its immediate causes were the ranch owners' dissatisfaction with the high taxes on local jerky and the arbitrary choice of names not approved by the ranchers for the position of president of the province (corresponding to the current position of governor).
The province of Rio Grande do Sul had as its main economic product the jerky (dried meat). The beef jerky was produced by charqueadores from beef sold by ranchers. These groups were part of the economic elite of that province and were unhappy with the policy of high taxes levied on this product by the Brazilian government.
The jerky supplied the markets of the Southeast and Northeast, mainly because it was the staple food given to slaves. Thus, the state's economy was focused on the domestic market and had as great competitors the beef jerky producers from Argentina and Uruguay. This foreign product, however, was little taxed, which made this product more competitive than the national one.
The great demand of the ranchers in Rio Grande do Sul was that the foreign product received a tax as a way to protect domestic producers and, thus, make the prices of the product in Rio Grande do Sul competitive. The government's negligence in relation to the dissatisfaction of ranchers with the fiscal policy on jerky is, therefore, the main reason that started the Rio Grande do Sul revolt.
Other important factors that contributed to stir up tempers were the dissatisfaction of ranchers with the taxation on cattle that transited the border between Brazil and the Uruguay, dissatisfaction with the creation of the National Guard, dissatisfaction with the government's refusal to bear the losses of ranchers after a plague of ticks took place. cattle reached in 1834 and, finally, the free circulation of republicanist and federalist ideals in the region, which impacted, above all, on the defense, by the farrapos, of autonomy to the province.
Mind Map: War of the Rags
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Main events of the Farrapos Revolt
The Farrapos Revolt was, then, a sum of the reasons mentioned and officially began on September 20, 1835. At that time, the movement was just a local revolt that was a response to the appointment of a provincial president not supported by the ranchers.
This movement gained dimension when it was proclaimed by the ranchers the Republic of Rio Grande do Sul, also known as Republic of Piratini, in September 1836. This event has prompted debates among historians about whether the Farrapos Revolt was a movement of character separatist that would unite with Uruguay and/or Argentina or if it just sought to force the government to grant greater autonomy to the province.
One of the great names that led the fight of the Farrapos was Bento Gonçalves, a rich rancher who even presided over the Rio Grande do Sul Republic. Other important names were the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi – who also worked in Italian unification – and the military David Canabarro.
The Farrapos Revolt also spread to the region of Santa Catarina when Giuseppe Garibaldi and David Canabarro led the gaucho troops and conquered it, inaugurating the Julian Republic in July 1839. This republic, however, was short-lived, as the region was retaken by imperial troops in November of the same year.
From 1842, as the gaucho historian Juremir Machado da Silva classifies, the war between the Farrapos and the Imperial government turned into a guerrilla war, as the forces of the Farrapos were already considerably harmed|1|. This happened mainly with the appointment of Luís Alves de Lima e Silva to contain the revolt in the South.
Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, at the time Barão de Caxias, was appointed by the government in 1842 to defeat the Farrapos and was sent to the South with over 12,000 men. Caxias managed, through efficient military strategy and diplomacy, to gradually defeat the Farrapos and force them to negotiate.
This negotiation between the Farrapos and the government led to the signing of the Green Punch Treaty, in which the rebels' surrender was agreed. The Farrapos were, therefore, defeated and, in exchange, the government accepted the following terms:
Those involved were amnesty.
foreign pond was taxed by 25%.
The rags military went integrated into the imperial army, keeping the same patent.
Provincials were given the right to choose their provincial governor (not enforced by the government).
The slaves who participated in the revolt would be freed (it was not fulfilled by the government).
|1| Juremir: “many commemorate the Revolution without knowing the history”. To access click on here.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
