THE Beckman Revolt it was a popular revolt that took place in the states of Maranhão and Grão-Pará between 1684 and 1685. This uprising was motivated by the dissatisfaction of the local population, especially a small elite, with the commercial monopoly exercised by the Companhia de Comercio do Maranhão and with the prohibition of the enslavement of indigenous peoples. The rebellion was eventually crushed by troops sent by Portugal just over a year after it started and its main leaders were severely punished.
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Context
The State of Maranhão was created by the Spaniards in 1621, still during the period of Iberian Union. In 1654, already under Portuguese rule, it became State of Maranhão and Grão-Pará. The economy of Maranhão depended heavily on extracting drugs from the sertão and on the production of certain items, such as cotton and cocoa, in addition to having a small production of sugar.
The situation of the economy of Maranhão, however, worsened considerably with the expulsion of the dutch, due to lack of goods. In addition, the settlers installed in Maranhão relied heavily on slave labor, especially that carried out by the indigenous.
As the local economy was quite simple and not very profitable, it could not afford the high costs of acquiring african slaves. Thus, excursions into the interior of the forest to capture indigenous people and resell them as slaves were very common in that region.
In the second half of the 17th century, a very strong tension between settlers and religious emerged regarding the control of indigenous labor. You Jesuits (priests who belonged to the Society of Jesus, a religious order linked to the Catholic Church that aimed to preach the gospel throughout the world) tried exercise control over this workforce, making the colonists become dependent on the sending of African slaves by the Crown to supply their needs.
The sending of African slaves would be the responsibility of the Maranhão State Commerce Company, company created in 1682. The promise was to send around ten thousand Africans within twenty years, but that didn't happen.
An aggravating factor in this context was a controversial decree of 1680 regarding the enslavement of indigenous peoples. Some historians understand this decree as a determination of the Portuguese king to prohibit indigenous enslavement in Maranhão. Other historians, however, interpret it as a real measure that ceded to the Jesuits the monopoly of control of the indigenous. Thus, the Jesuits could teach them to read, catechize them and use them as labor in their properties.
Finally, the Commerce Company of the State of Maranhão was created to solve the supply problems of the Maranhão, since the colony lacked all kinds of goods and had a very reduced. The Company's activities in both businesses (slaves and goods in general) took place through a monopoly known as stanchion.
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What caused the Beckman Revolt?
Beckman's Revolt was motivated by the dissatisfaction of the settlers in São Luís with the current situation. There were several complaints regarding the performance of the Commerce Company of the State of Maranhão. The company was accused of corruption, granting privileges to certain people, and delivering products in insufficient quantity and of questionable quality.
In addition, many settlers accused the company of offering too low a price for goods produced by the “good men” (influential Portuguese) in the region. Finally, on the issue of slaves, there was great dissatisfaction because the Company did not deliver the number of slaves necessary to meet local demands.
Another reason for great dissatisfaction was the performance of the Jesuits on the question of exploitation of the natives. The situation between settlers and Jesuits had been tense for decades and riots against the Jesuits had already taken place in the region.
Finally, there was a certain rivalry between the settlers of São Luís and the city of Belém, mainly because the governor of the province, Francisco de Sá e Menezes, did not live in São Luís, but in Belém. Many colonists felt left out, claiming that the governor of the province did not care about the problems of São Luís.
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Start of revolt
All this situation described irritated the settlers of São Luís, especially a group that had well-established economic activities in the region. Among them was Manuelbeckman, owner of a local mill, and his brother, Thomasbeckman, attorney. Manuel was the great leader of the revolt that began on February 24, 1684.
Manuel Beckman and Francisco Teixeira de Morais managed to convince other settlers dissatisfied with the situation to rebel. A day before an important procession in the region – that of Nosso Senhor dos Passos – the rebels decided to start an armed uprising against the government of Francisco de Sá and Menezes.
So, on February 24, armed men surrendered the local guard and took control of the Casa de Estanco, the place where the company sold its goods. Then they took control of important places in São Luís and arrested the representatives of the king of Portugal. With that, João de Sousa de Castro, Manuel Coutinho and Tomás Beckman were declared governors of the region.
The newly established government became known as General Board of Government, imposing a series of measures, such as the end of the stanco, the expulsion of the Jesuits from São Luís, the end of the authority of the governor of the province and the deposition of the Captain-Mor, the representative of Francisco de Sá in St. Louis. The rebels tried to take their mutiny to other provinces in the colony, but they could not get support.
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How did the Beckman Revolt end?
Beckman's Revolt Lasted more than a year. The movement began to weaken in early 1685 and was brought under control when Portugal sent a squadron to retake Portuguese rule in São Luís in May 1685. Those involved in the revolt were arrested and punished in different ways by the metropolitan authorities.
Manuelbeckman and JorgeinSampaio ended up being hanged in metropolitan order. Other rebels were expelled and some were punished with a flogging in a public square. Others, like Tomás Beckman, were imprisoned, remaining in prison in Portugal for 20 years.
A new ruler was sent to Maranhão, Gomes Freire de Andrade, being responsible for conducting the punishments. Through it, the Companhia de Comercio do Maranhão ended up being extinguished in 1685, and the order that prohibited colonists from enslaving indigenous people in Maranhão was revoked in 1688.
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[1] Stefano Ember and Shutterstock
