Canudos

Quick Facts: Who was Canudos?

Subject:

Canudos

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Historical settlement in Bahia, Brazil, famous for peasant resistance against republican forces.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Canudos is a municipality in the northeast region of Bahia, Brazil. The original town, since flooded by the Cocorobó Dam, was the scene of violent clashes between peasants and republican police in the 1890s. The municipality contains part of the Raso da Catarina ecoregion. The town of Canudos was founded in the racially diverse Bahia state of northeastern Brazil in 1893 by Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel, an itinerant preacher from Ceara. Mendes Maciel had been wandering through the backroads and lesser-inhabited areas of the country from the 1870s onwards, followed by a band of loyal supporters.

Career & Major Achievements

As his following swelled, he took on the name Antônio Conselheiro (Antônio the Counselor) and increasingly began to trouble the local authorities, who saw him as a Monarchist and thus a threat to their legitimacy. In 1893, following a protest over taxation and a violent melee with the police forces in Masseté, Conselheiro and his band settled on an abandoned farm called Canudos, so called because a plant, canudo-de-pita (scientific name Ipomoea carnea, its popular name referring to its hollow tubes, used for manufacturing smoking pipes) was common in the region. The place was named Belo Monte (Beautiful Mount) by Antonio Conselheiro, but the old name, Arraial de Canudos, prevailed. Over the years people from across Bahia, including landless farmers, former slaves, indigenous people and cangaceiros flocked to join him, and within a few years the fledgling settlement numbered 30,000 people (which made it the second largest urban center in Bahia behind Salvador) and had developed a leather exporting business. As a community, Canudos operated somewhat like a religious commune, with Antônio Conselheiro as the principal member and director.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Canudos was a heavily religious settlement, under the sway of Antonio's fanaticism, but despite his fanaticism he did not assume any official position of authority. The settlement practiced common ownership, abolished the official currency, negated Brazilian national laws and participated collectively in the management of the town. Canudos was in essence a reaction against the contemporary Brazilian nation. Neither the local nor national government supported the settlement in Canudos. The local government of Bahia felt pressure from landowners to take action against the settlement because of labor shortages caused by migration.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1893: 1893 Milestone — The town of Canudos was founded in the racially diverse Bahia state of northeastern Brazil in 1893 by Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel, an itinerant preacher from Ceara.

Notable Quotes by Canudos

“I saw and witnessed the sacrifice of all those poor people (...) and I say with all sincerity: in Canudos almost all the prisoners were beheaded (...) To take the life of a little child (...) is the greatest of cruelties and crimes man can commit.”

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Canudos

True or False: “The original town site of Canudos was permanently submerged due to the construction of the Cocorobó Dam in the 1970s.”

Answer (TRUE ⭕): The dam project blocked the Vaza-Barris River and flooded the old city center.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Albert Szent-Györgyi — Historical peer (Born in 1893) (1893): Pioneering Hungarian biochemist, Nobel laureate for Vitamin C and muscle research.
• Alexander Cunningham — Historical peer (Died in 1893) (1893): Pioneering British archaeologist and founder of the Archaeological Survey of India.
• Canut revolts — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: Major worker uprisings by Lyonnais silk weavers (canuts) in 1831, 1834, and 1848.
• Cao Ba Quat — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: Vietnamese poet and revolutionary whose works critiqued the Nguyễn Dynasty court.
• Cao Cao — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: Statesman, warlord, and poet who founded the state of Cao Wei.
• Cao Futian — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: Leader of the anti-foreign Boxer Uprising in the late Qing Dynasty.

Frequently Asked Questions about Canudos