On January 1, 1880, the capital of the Brazilian Empire, Rio de Janeiro, saw a revolt erupt against the charging of a tax on the price of transport tickets on trams. Known as Revolt of the Vintém, this episode represented the first popular reaction in the news in Brazil against the fares charged in the public transport system.
The name Revolta do Vintém is derived from the tax of twenty réis, a vintem, which would be levied on the value of tickets on trams pulled by donkeys in Rio de Janeiro. The law that stipulated the charge was enacted in December 1879, and on December 28 of the same year, a demonstration against the law was called by the republican physician and journalist Lopes Trovão.
The concentration of the population, estimated at five thousand people, took place in the field of São Cristóvão, in front of the Imperial Palace, where they intended to deliver a petition to Emperor D. Pedro II against charging the fee. However, the palace was surrounded by police forces, preventing the population's contact with the monarch Brazilian, and the guards were armed with large truncheons, known as "sticks of Petrópolis”. It was only during the dispersal of the crowd that the Emperor was willing to meet with a commission representing the protesters. However, Lopes Trovão did not accept the offer of D. Pedro II, going on to affirm the need for the Emperor to meet directly with all the people, in addition to using the pages of his newspaper,
The Gazette, to urge the population not to accept the charge. The objective of Lopes Trovão was also to take political advantage of the dissatisfaction, as he bet on the erosion of imperial power.On January 1, 1880, the charging of the fare on tickets came into force. The order was that the police forces should enforce the charge. During the morning there were no incidents with tram users. Of the companies that operated the trams in the city, only Botanical Garden was not charging the fee. Around noon, under the encouragement of Lopes Trovão, a crowd gathered at Largo do Paço, being called to peacefully resist the charge on the ticket. Protesters began to move through the center of the city, towards the Largo de San Francisco, the end point of countless tram lines.
Upon arriving at this location, and despite requests made to remain peaceful, the demonstrators began to clash with the police, before the army's reinforcements arrived. The population, furious against the charge, started to attack and destroy the trams, assaulting coachmen and conductors, in addition to stabbing the animals that pulled the vehicles. With the police repression, the protesters dispersed through the streets of the region, tearing up the tracks and pavements along the way, as well as destroying the trams they found.
Some of these trams were overturned in the narrow streets, serving, alongside the stones pulled from the ground, as a barricade against the police. The protesters' resistance was given by throwing stones, bottles and, in some cases, shooting from revolvers. The soldiers, in turn, attacked with firearms. On January 1st, during the night, the conflicts ended, returning to a lesser extent over the next three days.
Due to the unpopularity of the collection, companies no longer charge the fee on tickets. The law that regulated it was revoked in March of the same year. Government ministers have fallen for the law.
It is interesting to note the debate that was carried out by the press at the time. As in other moments in the country's history, the acts of destruction were attributed to the most exploited layers of the population, as they were considered less civilized. There was also the fact that the population was subject to the terrible quality of transport on trams. It is estimated that around 20 million passengers were taken in 1879 on dirty trams that were constantly delayed. The violence of the revolt would be a reaction to the situation experienced daily.
The Vintém Revolt would also show that the government of D. Pedro II showed signs of decadence and lack of popular support. A little less than 10 years later, the republicans managed to end imperial power in Brazil.
By Tales Pinto
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/revolta-vintem-1880.htm
