THE Revolutionbeach it took place from 1848 to 1850 and was motivated by disputes between the praieiros and the conservatives. The main combats fought in this revolution took place in the interior of the province of Pernambuco, although a major attack was led by Pedro Ivo against Recife. The praieiros were defeated, and the conservatives remained in power.
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Context of the Praia Revolution
Pernambuco in the 1840s
the province of Pernambuco was experiencing great tensions in the 1840s, the result, above all, of the different economic interests, the difficulties imposed on the poorest population and the disputes for power. These issues converged to make this province host Brazil's last provincial rebellion in the second reign.
In that decade, the province of Pernambuco was experiencing tensions caused by the dispute over labor, after all, from 1845 onwards, with the beginning of the Bill Aberdeen, obtaining slaves became more complex, causing the elites themselves to compete with each other for access to this labor force.
In addition, there was the decay of the sugar economy, which affected the Pernambuco economy as a whole, but which in the people was reflected in greater difficulties, as the cost of living increased. To make matters worse, there was a very strong dissatisfaction because the retail trade (retail) was in the hands of foreigners, especially the English and Portuguese, and Recife was often out of stock, which made access to food difficult.
Popular dissatisfaction was channeled by political interests that were in dispute in Pernambuco and often resulted in popular violence. Historian Marcus de Carvalho defines that the popular classes in Pernambuco were sandwiched between unemployment, large estates and slavery|1|.
Finally, there is the political issue, the great motivator of the Praieira Revolution, which we will see in more detail.
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Politics in Pernambuco
Brazilian policy during the Second Reign was a big dispute between liberals and conservatives, two political groups that had the same social origin and that often held similar positions (as in the issue of maintaining slavery). The two groups differed in few respects.
The first years of the Second Reign were marked by the rotation of these parties in power. This dispute took place in Parliament, but it also took place in the Brazilian provinces and, in the case of Pernambuco, it was crucial for the Praieira Revolution to take place. In the context of the province of Pernambuco, this dispute took place between the Brokenpraieiro it's the BrokenConservative.
The Praieiro Party emerged as a dissidence born within the Liberal Party because of the influence that the Cavalcanti family had between liberals and conservatives in Pernambuco. The Praieiro Party took its name because its members gathered in a newspaper that published their ideas: the diaryNew, located in Recife, in RoadgivesBeach.
This dispute between the praieiros against the conservatives, especially as an opposition to the Cavalcanti, gained a new contour from 1845 onwards. In that year, the ministerial cabinet passed into the hands of the liberals, and the praieiros, taking advantage of their proximity to one of the names that formed the cabinet – Aureliano de Souza Coutinho –, they managed to get the appointment in Antônio Pinto Chichorro for the presidency of the province.
From then on, the praieiros began to carry out a series of interventions, which aimed to hand over positions of influence in the province to people who supported them. Thus, several people who had ties to the Cavalcanti and conservatives began to be removed from their positions, and praieiros were appointed in their place.
The action of the praieiros to remove the conservatives' allies resulted in the dismissal of about 650 people positions such as delegates and other important functions within the Civil Police and the National guard, for example. Allies of the praieiros from the countryside and the cities began to occupy these places.
In addition, the beachgoers started to disarm the conservatives' allies. This is explained because, when the conservatives were at the head of the province, their allies who held positions in the police and in the National Guard received weapons from the Pernambuco government. The praieiros took advantage that the police force was in their hands now to disarm the conservatives.
Thus, beach authorities began to invade properties from conservatives and Cavalcanti allies to seize weapons of the state, arrest criminals who hid in these places, and capture slaves who had been stolen from other plantations. This started to generate small conflicts, as those who had their properties invaded began to defend themselves.
In addition, conservatives and Cavalcanti allies began to use local newspapers to denounce the action of the praieiros, mainly because these actions were only held on the properties of opponents of the praieiros.
On the popular issue, the beach owners began to organize public events with a most popular rhetoric and that he made a strong case for the nationalization of retail trade, that is, retail trade. At the time, this activity was dominated by the Portuguese and the English, and the population of Recife, dissatisfied with the high unemployment and the rising cost of living, saw this issue as an immediate solution for their problems.
The praieiros even took this agenda to the Chamber of Deputies, and this issue of retail trade began to radicalize the population Recife against foreigners. So much so that, between 1845 and 1848, attacks by the population against foreigners and their stores were common. These attacks were called “sailor kill” and, in the marine kill of July 1848, five Portuguese were beaten to death|2|.
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fuse of the beach revolution
We can see, therefore, that there was an explosive scenario in Pernambuco. The intraoligarchic disputes were quite violent, and the urban population of Recife was being radicalized because of their dissatisfaction with the cost of living and the lack of jobs (largely caused by the beaches). This situation got out of control when a turnaroundpolitics It happened.
In early 1848, the Liberals lost control of the ministerial cabinet, being replaced by the Conservatives. This made the conservatives regain power in the provinceinPernambuco and then they started their revenge. Praieiros who had been appointed to the Civil Police and the National Guard from 1845 onwards began to be fired.
Conservatives did what they had suffered: dismissals of their opponents, appointments of allies and the disarmament of praieiros. However, the beachers began to resist to the actions of conservatives. Marcus de Carvalho says that about 40 rural landowners linked to the praieiros didn't accept surrender their positions and not return their weapons|3|.
Historians consider that the Praieira Revolution began when a plantation owner named Manoel Pereira de Moraes he reacted to the attempt by Conservative troops to disarm him. The main conflicts between praieiros and conservatives spread throughout the province of Pernambuco and they extended from November 1848 to February 1849, although localized conflicts took place in the province. until 1850.
One of the most important names in the Praieiro Party was Pedro Ivo, a tenant who was in charge of a group of people living in the interior of Pernambuco. He led 1600 men and drew army forces into the interior and then took his men to the capital, Recife.
In Recife they found the city protected by National Guard troops. Then, a battle that lasted 12 hours and resulted in the death of 200 of the men who formed Pedro Ivo's troop. On the side of the National Guard, there were about 90 deaths|4|. In this battle, one of the most expressive names of the praieiros died: the Deputy Nunes Machado. This attack took place on February 2, 1849 and the beach defeat severely weakened the movement.
While the fighting was still taking place in the interior of Pernambuco, an expressive name in the province joined the struggle of the praieiros. BorgesgivesFonseca he was a radical liberal who, during the years of the praieiros' rule, had been persecuted and imprisoned, but with the beginning of the conflict, he saw in him a possibility of bringing about a transformation in the province.
Borges da Fonseca represented the nativist side and with the greatest popular appeal of the Praieira Revolution. This liberal wrote a manifesto, which was supported by many planters who defended the praieiros. This manifest was known as Manifest to the World and it brought some claims that echoed ideas expressed by the European popular classes and that were very influenced by the utopian socialism.
Borges da Fonseca's Manifesto contained the following requirements:
1. free and universal vote;
2. press freedom;
3. work as a guarantee of life for Brazilians;
4. nationalization of retail trade;
5. independence of powers;
6. extinction of the Moderating Power;
7. implantation of federalism;
8. reform of the judiciary;
9. end of military recruitment;
10. end of the conventional interest law.
Outcome
After Nunes Machado died, Borges da Fonseca continued to lead the movement. The fight continued in the interior of Pernambuco (in the Zona da Mata region) through a guerrilla group and was only definitively contained in 1850. A large part of the planters who were involved in the fight received amnesty.
The Praia Revolution was the last rebellion of a liberal character in the Northeastand and also marked the downfall of the liberals. With its reputation tarnished by involvement in the struggle in Pernambuco, this party only regained power in Parliament in 1864.
Grades
|1| OAK, Marcus de. Beach uprising. In.: FIGUEIREDO, Luciano (ed.). History of Brazil for the occupied. Rio de Janeiro: House of the Word, 2013, p. 336.
|2| Idem, p. 337.
|3| OAK, Marcus de. The names of the Revolution: popular leaders in the Praieira Insurrection, Recife, 1848-1849. To access, click on here.
|4| OAK, Marcus de. The Praia Insurrection. To access, click on here.
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
