In Bahia, in 1798, a social movement called The Tailors' Revolt (Bahian Conjuration or Bahia Inconfidence), which aimed to break colonial ties with Portugal. The participants of this uprising were inspired by the ideals of freedom coming from Europe, arising from the French Revolution, and had the participation of the Bahian elite, marked in the figure of the journalist and doctor Cipriano Barata and the priest Agostinho Gomes, who were followers of French thought and staunch critics of the Portuguese colonial system into force.
The aspiration for libertarian ideals did not come only from the elite: the popular sectors also wanted better living conditions and an end to neglect and situation of extreme misery that had taken the popular classes since the Crown transferred the seat of colonial government to Rio de Janeiro, in 1763.
The revolt led by the tailors John of God and Manuel Faustino dos Santos and by the soldiers Lucas Dantas and Luiz Gonzaga it began on the 12th of August 1798. On that day, through posters posted in Salvador, which contained the purpose of the revolt and the proposals pleaded by the movement, the rebels they expected the participation of the Bahian population, but before the population understood what had happened, they were reported and the government controlled the movement. On August 25 of the same year, all those involved in the conspiracy were arrested. Soldiers Lucas Dantas and Luiz Gonzaga and tailors João de Deus and Manuel Faustino were hanged. Those belonging to the elite, such as Cipriano Barata, were acquitted.
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Both the Inconfidência Mineira and the Revolt of the Tailors pleaded for political emancipation and had republican ideals. They wanted a representative political structure that would foster the country's educational system and industrialization. However, only the Bahian movement had significant popular participation and an abolitionist character. The inconfidentes belonged to the elite of the colonial society in Minas Gerais. Tiradentes, the only one who was executed, was an exception, as he had popular roots. The leaders of the Bahian movement, on the contrary, belonged to the less favored strata, which is why they were executed.
By Lilian Aguiar
Graduated in History
Brazil School Team
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
AGUIAR, Lilian Maria Martins de. "The Tailors' Revolt"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/a-revolta-dos-alfaiates.htm. Accessed on July 27, 2021.