Sabinada Revolt in Brazil 1837-1838

Early in November 1837, a cabal of discontented army officers and civilian radicals (members of the Federal Club) under the nominal leadership of Francisco Sabino Álvares da Rocha Vieira revolted in the city of Salvador, the capital of the Brazilian province of Bahia. An independent Republic of Bahia was declared on November 7, 1837, with João Carneiro da Silva Rego named as the acting president. Two days later the secession was disavowed and the anti-regency and pro-monarchial sentiments of the revolt were emphasized. The revolutionary forces, which became known as the Sabinada, were flooded with mulatto and black volunteers. As these new recruits began agitating for the adoption of their own goals, the Sabinada quickly adopted a strong anti-slavery posture and the revolution was transformed into a "revolt of the masses." While the onset of the winter rains prevented campaigning, many of Salvador's landowning aristocracy fled to the hinterlands around the mouth of the Amazon and recruited a mercenary force. A fleet of Brazilian warships also began a blockade of Salvador's harbor. The counterrevolutionary siege of Salvador began in earnest in March 1838, and Sabinada defenses cracked in less than four days. On March 14, 1838, imperial authority was reestablished. The last of the rebels surrendered the following day. Several hundred Sabinada members, primarily lower-class people, Indians, free and runaway blacks, and slaves, were massacred. Sabino was executed for treason in 1846.

References

Brazil - A Country Study; Brazil; Footnotes to History; Bahia and the Academic Tourist.

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