Cangaço - Citizendia

History of Brazil

Indigenous peoples

Colonial Brazil

Cangaço is the name given to a form of "social banditry" in the Nordeste of Brazil in late 19th and early 20th centuries. The history of Brazil begins with the arrival of the first indigenous peoples, over 8000 years ago by crossing the Bering land bridge into Alaska and then The Indigenous peoples in Brazil ( Portuguese: povos indígenas) comprise a large number of distinct Ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to In the History of Brazil, Colonial Brazil comprises the period from 1500 with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815 when Brazil was elevated The Empire of Brazil was a political entity that comprised present-day Brazil under the rule of Emperors Pedro I and his son Pedro II. The period of Brazilian history from 1889 to 1930 is commonly called the República Velha (Old Republic Depression coffee oligarchs and the Revolution of 1930 The Great Depression The ''tenente'' rebellion did not mark the revolutionary breakthrough of Brazil's The period between 1945 and 1964 in Brazilian history is known as the "Second Republic" |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The twentieth century of the Common Era began on This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hardships, and in a form of reaction against the domination of the land owners, the government and the European colonizers, many men and women decided to become nomadic bandits, roaming the sertões, seeking money, food, and revenge. In Brazil, the sertão ( Portuguese term for Backcountry or backlands once referred to the vast hinterland of Brazil away from the Atlantic coastal regions

1 Origin of the word
2 Lampião
3 Coiteiros
4 Volantes and monkeys
5 Cangaceiro style
6 Cangaceiro weapons
7 Famous cangaceiros
8 The Cangaço in film
9 See also

Origin of the word

By 1834, the term "cangaceiro" was already used to refer to bands of poor peasants who inhabited the northeastern deserts, wearing leather clothing and hats, carrying carbines, revolvers, shotguns, and long narrow knives known as peixeiras.

"Cangaceiro" was a pejorative expression, such as jagunço, cabra, or bandoleiro, meaning a person who could not adapt himself to the coastal lifestyle imposed by a new society, formed by people descending from European colonizers. Jagunço, from the Spanish zarguncho (a weapon of African origin similar to a short Lance or

By this time, these misfits divided themselves into basically two groups – the jagunços, mercenary rude hitman who worked for anyone paying the hightest price, usually land owners who wanted to protect or expand their territorial limits and also deal with farm workers; and the cangaceiros, "social bandits" who were supported by the poor, who fed them and protected them against the volantes of policemen sent by the government to stop them. Jagunço, from the Spanish zarguncho (a weapon of African origin similar to a short Lance or

One of the most common reasons why young people joined the cangaço was to avenge the family honor. This was the case of Jesuíno Brilhante, a famous cangaceiro from Rio Grande do Norte who helped the victims of the great draught of 1877 and who died in a shoot-out with the police in Paraíba. Rio Grande do Norte (lit "Large River of the North" xiu ˈgɾɐ̃di du ˈnɔxti is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part Paraíba (paɾaˈiba is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast where lies the easternmost Another famous cangaceiro, Sinhô Pereira, joined the cangaço in order to avenge the murder of his brother, Né Pereira, in the countryside of Pernambuco, in Serra Talhada. Pernambuco (pɛxnɐ̃ˈbuku is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country Wikipedia in portuguese Serra Talhada is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.

Lampião

Main article: Lampião

The most famous cangaceiro of them all, the one who is often associated with the whole history of the cangaço, was a man called Virgolino Ferreira da Silva, better known as "Lampião". Lampião ("Oil Lamp" in Portuguese was the Nickname of "Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva He began when he was just a boy, amongst vendetta plots of the Pereira and Nogueira-Carvalho families. When his parents were killed because of these disputes, some of his brothers ran away, but Antônio, Livino, and Ezequiel followed Virgulino into the cangaço.

A mixture of hero and bandit, Lampião became one of the most representative icons of Brazil. His face is still seen everywhere in Brazil, and he is often cited as a popular hero.

Wandering around Santa Brígida, in the state of Bahia, he met Maria Alia da Silva, Maria de Déia, wife of shoemaker Zé de Nenê. Bahia (baˈia is one of the 26 States of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast Later she would be better known as Mrs. Lampião, Maria Bonita. This romance novel one of a trilogy is based on the story of Maria the wife of João Lopes da Costa Pinho

Lampião was killed by the police in 1938, in a region between the state limits of Bahia and Alagoas, when an informer, Pedro de Cândido gave away their location to the police. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bahia (baˈia is one of the 26 States of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast Alagoas (AL (alaˈgoajs is a small state in northeastern Brazil lying between the states of Pernambuco and Sergipe; touching the state A massive offensive led to bloodshed, and the whole band was killed: Lampião, Maria Bonita, Luís Pedro, Caixa de Fósforo, Mergulhão, Cajarana, Diferente, Enedina, Ângelo Roque and Elétrico.

Coiteiros

Coiteiros were people who helped the cangaceiros, giving them shelter and food. They did this for many reasons – they could be relatives of a cangaceiro, friends, ex-neighbours, or simply had some interest in their power, or they were afraid of them.

Volantes and monkeys

The volantes were small bands of troops – around 20 to 60 – of government soldiers sent to seek out and destroy the cangaceiros. The cangaceiros often referred to them as "monkeys", because of their brown uniforms and their willingness to obey their bosses. Some of them carried modern (back then) Hotchkiss machine guns, weapons that the cangaceiros quickly learned to fear – but were always willing to steal for their own use.

Cangaceiro style

The cangaceiros had very specific notions of how to behave and dress. First of all, most of them, even being rude murderers, knew how to sew quite well. Living in the desert lands of the northeast of Brazil, they had to survive amidst spiky dry bushes. Despite the heat during the day, the cangaceiros preferred to wear leather clothing, embellished with all kinds of coloured ribbons and metal pieces.

They also used leather gloves with coins and other pieces of metal sewed to them, almost like armour.

Because of the heat and the absence of water, and also because of some kind of secret desire to be fancy and rich, some cangaceiros – especially Lampião – wore french perfume. Lampião ("Oil Lamp" in Portuguese was the Nickname of "Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva They often stole it from rich people's houses, and used it in large quantities.

Cangaceiro weapons

The weapons of the Cangaceiros were mostly revolvers, shotguns, and the famous "pára belo". It is claimed that like macaco (monkey), belo (beautiful) was another slang term for the policemen. Hence, pistols and Winchester-like rifles were called "pára belo" (belo stopper). The name Winchester rifle is frequently used to describe any of the Lever-action rifles manufactured in the U However, the name seems to be actually a derivation of the Latin expression Parabellum, which means "prepare for war" and was used to refer to firearm cartridges produced by the German arms maker DWM or to related firearms. The word Parabellum is a Noun coined by German arms maker Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken and is derived from the Latin saying Si vis pacem Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktien-Gesellschaft (German Weapons and Munitions Works known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial

They also made famous a thin, long, and very sharp knife called a "peixeira", a fish-cleaning knife, used mostly to torture or cut the throats of their victims.

Famous cangaceiros

Lampião, Cabeleira, Adolfo Meia-Noite, Antônio Silvino, Jesuíno Brilhante, Lucas da Feira, Sinhô Pereira, and Diogo da Rocha Figueira aka "Dioguinho" (in São Paulo).

The Cangaço in film

O Cangaceiro, Lima Barreto 1953 (original score by Riz Ortolani)
- O Cangaceiro at the Internet Movie Database
A Morte comanda o Cangaço, Walter Guimarães Motta 1961
- A Morte comanda o Cangaço at the Internet Movie Database
Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol, English title: "White God, Black Devil" Glauber Rocha 1963
O Dragão da Maldade Contra o Santo Guerreiro, Glauber Rocha 1968
Baile Perfumado, Paulo Caldas and Lírio Ferreira 1997
- Baile Perfumado at the Internet Movie Database

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