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2. The Mineira Revolt (1789-1790)
2. The Mineira Revolt
In the middle of February, 1789, the Governor of the Captaincy of Minas Gerais, Luís Antônio Furtado de Castro do Rio de Mendonça e Faro (known simply as Viscount of Barbacena), in the name of Queen Maria I of Portugal and Algarves, instituted the derrama [1] in that province, an extremely onerous tax on gold imposed in the whole province. This measure had been foreseen by the local population, and was highly reviled, especially because the Mineiros were already burdened by fiscal exactions and the minefields were depleting.
In the day the new duty was imposed, the population of Vila Rica d'Ouro Preto [2] rioted and assaulted the tax-gatherers of the Crown, and Gov. Mendonça e Faro immediately called the city guard, led by Lieutenant Francisco de Paula Freire de Andrade, to suppress the insurgence. What the Governor didn’t knew, however, was that Lt. Freire de Andrade was one of the leaders of a conspiracy dedicated to the overthrowing of the colonial rule, and his military contingent surrounded Gov. Mendonça e Faro’s bodyguard and imprisoned them.
Inside the dungeon, he depressingly discovered that the mutiny was only the first act of a rebellion orchestrated by a cabal of magistrates, friars and military officers opposed to the Crown. Their immediate purpose was the extinction of taxes, but their ultimate goal was completely revolutionary: the proclamation of the independence of the province of Minas Gerais from the Kingdom of Portugal, clearly influenced by Jacobinism [3].
The colony since its foundation in 1500 had witnessed a multitude of revolts from the settlers against the colonial government, usually due to abusive fines and general dissatisfaction with the administration. The Mineira Revolt, also known as Revolta dos Maçons (“Revolt of the Masons”) [4], however, was the first emancipationist movement in Brazil. The inspiration from the recent French Revolution was evident, as the architects of the movement hailed from the intellectual elite – most of them had studied in Europe and were entirely aware of the sociopolitical transformations occurring there – as was the influence of the American Revolution. Both episodes demonstrated that the monarchy could be toppled, and a new regime based on liberty could be created.
The Mineira Conspiracy – the Flag of the Revolution carries the Latin quotation “Libertas quae sera tamen”, from Virgil, which means “Liberty, even if late”
One of the conspirators, in fact, had secretly corresponded with Thomas Jefferson when he was still ambassador of the United States in France (1786), explaining that the liberation of the North-American colonies against the United Kingdom was seen as a “victorious precedent”, and sought the sympathy and support of the American government [5].
The successful conspirators inspired the enthusiasm of the Mineira population, and immediately established a provisory government in Vila Rica, with the famous poet Tomás Antônio Gonzaga as the provisory president of the “Republic of Vila Rica” (also known as República dos Mazombos [6]), and the charismatic Lt. Freire de Andrade as the commander-in-chief. The city of Sabará was convinced to join the movement, and in March 1789 the rebels defeated a minor Royalist regiment that came from the village of Santo Antônio do Paraibuna [7]. By May 1789, the most populous towns in the region, like Mariana, Congonhas and Tejuco [8], were integrated into the revolutionary state, and the famous bill of rights that History came to name “The Declaration of Vila Rica” was published, announcing the sacred rights to liberty and the choosing of its representatives in the communal decisions.
Despite the apparent success, however, the movement was firmed on very weak bases. If the urban citizens in general were impressed by the Jacobin ideals of extinguishing the aristocratic privileges, the rural masses were only concerned with the reduction of taxes, and they were barely diminished, only diverted to the coffers of the new government. The imperative of organizing a serious military resistance against the colonial government forced the rebel rulers to conscript every available men to the “Revolutionary Army”, which decreased the popularity of the movement.
In August 1789, a large Royalist force came from Rio de Janeiro and defeated the Revolutionary Army in the village of Palmyra [9]. The movement immediately started to crumble, as its internal fractures appeared, and not even the effort of resisting the Portuguese Crown seemed enough to heal them. The rebel militias suffered mass desertions, forcing the provisory government to conscript slaves to serve in the army. Internal dissent grew and splinter factions arose, seeking a compromise with the Crown in Lisboa.
In October 1789, another Royalist victory over the rebel forces near the town of São João del-Rei sealed the defeat of the short-lived revolution. Some leaders capitulated in exchange for a royal pardon, and Vila Rica was retaken by the royal forces in the first days of November after a hard-fought battle in the streets. Tomáz Antônio Gonzaga surrendered and was later banished, but a cadre of hardliners of the defunct provisory government, led by Lt. Freire de Andrade, escaped to their last stronghold in Tijuco, a mountainous region where they waged a violent guerrilla warfare against the Royal forces, harassing the supplies and thwarting the transport of gold ore in the central region of the province. By February 1790 – a year after the rebellion started – the revolutionary remnant had been exhausted by attrition, and opted to finally give up the fight. Francisco de Paula Freire de Andrade committed suicide in 18 February 1790 and his regiment disbanded.
Those members of the provisory government that had surrendered received the lighter punishments, like property confiscation and temporary imprisonment. The most important leaders from wealthier families and from the Church were permanently exiled, while some others were condemned to forced labor in the galleys. The military officers of low and medium ranks were executed by hanging, as were many freed slaves that had participated on the fighting.
Despite failing in the end, the movement was the most remarkable precedent of the process of emancipation in relation to Portugal, a generation later, and many of the founding fathers of the Brazilian Republic would be profoundly influenced by this first attempt of decolonization.
One must remember that the Mineira Revolt, despite its revolutionary proposal regarding the political system, was very conservative in other aspects: the majority of its leaders upheld slavery and only resorted to manumission to bolster its military force, and many of the idealizers of the movement actually disliked republicanism, and only saw it as a convenient way of ending the colonial pact.
It was, after all, a movement that sought to guarantee the interests of the landholder oligarchy and of the urban intellectual elites, and never intended to project itself as a “Brazilian” independence movement, but rather obtain more autonomy and more privileges for the Captaincy of Minas Gerais.
In this regard, the Baiana Revolt – which occurred almost concomitantly with the Republic of Vila Rica – was an even more revolutionary enterprise, being the first campaign that propagated the idea of a democratic political regime, in which every person regardless of race could participate, and championed the abolition of slavery.
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[1] “Derrama” (lit. “spilling”) was a tax imposed on the whole province of Minas Gerais by the Portugal inside Brazil, designed to ensure that the dues to the Crown reached a minimum annual quota. It was understood by the provincial inhabitants as an unfair exaction, because it affected every citizen, even if they had no relation to the auriferous production, and it became extremely onerous in late 18th Century, as the gold extraction was already in decline.
[2] “Vila Rica” is the ancient name for the modern city of Ouro Preto, in the State of Minas Gerais/Brazil, and, during the colonial period, was the capital of Minas Gerais, and the largest city of the “Gold District” where the gold extracted from the rivers and rocks was melted into ingots and bullions to be sent directly to Portugal.
[3] “Jacobinism” or “Francesia” (lit. “frenchiness”) was the name used by the Portuguese authorities to refer to revolutionary projects and propaganda, and accusations of the sort could result from loss of property to banishment and even execution.
[4] The “Masonry” (or Freemasonry) had a significant presence among the intellectual elites of the main Brazilian cities (especially Rio de Janeiro, Vila Rica, Salvador), like it did in the rest of Latin America and in the United States. Due to its secretive nature, Illuminist and non-conformist worldview, those agencies were usually the champions of the revolutionary movements in Brazil, so much that by the late 18th Century masonry was effectively outlawed in the whole Portuguese Empire.
[5] The correspondence between Thomas Jefferson (before his presidency) and a conspirator from Minas Gerais occurred historically. While serving as Ambassador of the United States in France, T. Jefferson received letters from a pseudonym “Vendek” [in reality José Joaquim Maia e Barbalho, a Luso-Brazilian student in France], pleading the help of the American government to an emancipationist movement inside Portuguese America. Jefferson made no promises, but the letter was indeed remitted to the American Department of State.
[6] “Mazombo” is how the people from European descent born in Brazilian territory were sometimes called. By the 18th Century, they indeed identified themselves as a separate ethnicity in relation to the Portuguese.
[7] “Santo Antônio do Paraibuna” is the ancient name for the modern city of Juiz de Fora, in the State of Minas Gerais/Brazil.
[8] “Tijuco” is the ancient name for the modern city of Diamantina, in the State of Minas Gerais/Brazil.
[9] “Palmyra” is the old name for the modern city of Santos Dumont, in the State of Minas Gerais/Brazil.
_________________________________
Historical Notes: As said in the previous chapter, there was indeed a conspiracy orchestrated by the elites of Minas Gerais against the colonial government, strongly influenced by the Illuminist ideas propagated by the French Revolution, and had substantial association with the Freemasonry (as its secretive and elitist nature allowed the formation of a single group of interest able to organize an anti-colonial conspiracy).
In the middle of February, 1789, the Governor of the Captaincy of Minas Gerais, Luís Antônio Furtado de Castro do Rio de Mendonça e Faro (known simply as Viscount of Barbacena), in the name of Queen Maria I of Portugal and Algarves, instituted the derrama [1] in that province, an extremely onerous tax on gold imposed in the whole province. This measure had been foreseen by the local population, and was highly reviled, especially because the Mineiros were already burdened by fiscal exactions and the minefields were depleting.
In the day the new duty was imposed, the population of Vila Rica d'Ouro Preto [2] rioted and assaulted the tax-gatherers of the Crown, and Gov. Mendonça e Faro immediately called the city guard, led by Lieutenant Francisco de Paula Freire de Andrade, to suppress the insurgence. What the Governor didn’t knew, however, was that Lt. Freire de Andrade was one of the leaders of a conspiracy dedicated to the overthrowing of the colonial rule, and his military contingent surrounded Gov. Mendonça e Faro’s bodyguard and imprisoned them.
Inside the dungeon, he depressingly discovered that the mutiny was only the first act of a rebellion orchestrated by a cabal of magistrates, friars and military officers opposed to the Crown. Their immediate purpose was the extinction of taxes, but their ultimate goal was completely revolutionary: the proclamation of the independence of the province of Minas Gerais from the Kingdom of Portugal, clearly influenced by Jacobinism [3].
The colony since its foundation in 1500 had witnessed a multitude of revolts from the settlers against the colonial government, usually due to abusive fines and general dissatisfaction with the administration. The Mineira Revolt, also known as Revolta dos Maçons (“Revolt of the Masons”) [4], however, was the first emancipationist movement in Brazil. The inspiration from the recent French Revolution was evident, as the architects of the movement hailed from the intellectual elite – most of them had studied in Europe and were entirely aware of the sociopolitical transformations occurring there – as was the influence of the American Revolution. Both episodes demonstrated that the monarchy could be toppled, and a new regime based on liberty could be created.
The Mineira Conspiracy – the Flag of the Revolution carries the Latin quotation “Libertas quae sera tamen”, from Virgil, which means “Liberty, even if late”
One of the conspirators, in fact, had secretly corresponded with Thomas Jefferson when he was still ambassador of the United States in France (1786), explaining that the liberation of the North-American colonies against the United Kingdom was seen as a “victorious precedent”, and sought the sympathy and support of the American government [5].
The successful conspirators inspired the enthusiasm of the Mineira population, and immediately established a provisory government in Vila Rica, with the famous poet Tomás Antônio Gonzaga as the provisory president of the “Republic of Vila Rica” (also known as República dos Mazombos [6]), and the charismatic Lt. Freire de Andrade as the commander-in-chief. The city of Sabará was convinced to join the movement, and in March 1789 the rebels defeated a minor Royalist regiment that came from the village of Santo Antônio do Paraibuna [7]. By May 1789, the most populous towns in the region, like Mariana, Congonhas and Tejuco [8], were integrated into the revolutionary state, and the famous bill of rights that History came to name “The Declaration of Vila Rica” was published, announcing the sacred rights to liberty and the choosing of its representatives in the communal decisions.
Despite the apparent success, however, the movement was firmed on very weak bases. If the urban citizens in general were impressed by the Jacobin ideals of extinguishing the aristocratic privileges, the rural masses were only concerned with the reduction of taxes, and they were barely diminished, only diverted to the coffers of the new government. The imperative of organizing a serious military resistance against the colonial government forced the rebel rulers to conscript every available men to the “Revolutionary Army”, which decreased the popularity of the movement.
In August 1789, a large Royalist force came from Rio de Janeiro and defeated the Revolutionary Army in the village of Palmyra [9]. The movement immediately started to crumble, as its internal fractures appeared, and not even the effort of resisting the Portuguese Crown seemed enough to heal them. The rebel militias suffered mass desertions, forcing the provisory government to conscript slaves to serve in the army. Internal dissent grew and splinter factions arose, seeking a compromise with the Crown in Lisboa.
In October 1789, another Royalist victory over the rebel forces near the town of São João del-Rei sealed the defeat of the short-lived revolution. Some leaders capitulated in exchange for a royal pardon, and Vila Rica was retaken by the royal forces in the first days of November after a hard-fought battle in the streets. Tomáz Antônio Gonzaga surrendered and was later banished, but a cadre of hardliners of the defunct provisory government, led by Lt. Freire de Andrade, escaped to their last stronghold in Tijuco, a mountainous region where they waged a violent guerrilla warfare against the Royal forces, harassing the supplies and thwarting the transport of gold ore in the central region of the province. By February 1790 – a year after the rebellion started – the revolutionary remnant had been exhausted by attrition, and opted to finally give up the fight. Francisco de Paula Freire de Andrade committed suicide in 18 February 1790 and his regiment disbanded.
Those members of the provisory government that had surrendered received the lighter punishments, like property confiscation and temporary imprisonment. The most important leaders from wealthier families and from the Church were permanently exiled, while some others were condemned to forced labor in the galleys. The military officers of low and medium ranks were executed by hanging, as were many freed slaves that had participated on the fighting.
Despite failing in the end, the movement was the most remarkable precedent of the process of emancipation in relation to Portugal, a generation later, and many of the founding fathers of the Brazilian Republic would be profoundly influenced by this first attempt of decolonization.
One must remember that the Mineira Revolt, despite its revolutionary proposal regarding the political system, was very conservative in other aspects: the majority of its leaders upheld slavery and only resorted to manumission to bolster its military force, and many of the idealizers of the movement actually disliked republicanism, and only saw it as a convenient way of ending the colonial pact.
It was, after all, a movement that sought to guarantee the interests of the landholder oligarchy and of the urban intellectual elites, and never intended to project itself as a “Brazilian” independence movement, but rather obtain more autonomy and more privileges for the Captaincy of Minas Gerais.
In this regard, the Baiana Revolt – which occurred almost concomitantly with the Republic of Vila Rica – was an even more revolutionary enterprise, being the first campaign that propagated the idea of a democratic political regime, in which every person regardless of race could participate, and championed the abolition of slavery.
_________________________________
[1] “Derrama” (lit. “spilling”) was a tax imposed on the whole province of Minas Gerais by the Portugal inside Brazil, designed to ensure that the dues to the Crown reached a minimum annual quota. It was understood by the provincial inhabitants as an unfair exaction, because it affected every citizen, even if they had no relation to the auriferous production, and it became extremely onerous in late 18th Century, as the gold extraction was already in decline.
[2] “Vila Rica” is the ancient name for the modern city of Ouro Preto, in the State of Minas Gerais/Brazil, and, during the colonial period, was the capital of Minas Gerais, and the largest city of the “Gold District” where the gold extracted from the rivers and rocks was melted into ingots and bullions to be sent directly to Portugal.
[3] “Jacobinism” or “Francesia” (lit. “frenchiness”) was the name used by the Portuguese authorities to refer to revolutionary projects and propaganda, and accusations of the sort could result from loss of property to banishment and even execution.
[4] The “Masonry” (or Freemasonry) had a significant presence among the intellectual elites of the main Brazilian cities (especially Rio de Janeiro, Vila Rica, Salvador), like it did in the rest of Latin America and in the United States. Due to its secretive nature, Illuminist and non-conformist worldview, those agencies were usually the champions of the revolutionary movements in Brazil, so much that by the late 18th Century masonry was effectively outlawed in the whole Portuguese Empire.
[5] The correspondence between Thomas Jefferson (before his presidency) and a conspirator from Minas Gerais occurred historically. While serving as Ambassador of the United States in France, T. Jefferson received letters from a pseudonym “Vendek” [in reality José Joaquim Maia e Barbalho, a Luso-Brazilian student in France], pleading the help of the American government to an emancipationist movement inside Portuguese America. Jefferson made no promises, but the letter was indeed remitted to the American Department of State.
[6] “Mazombo” is how the people from European descent born in Brazilian territory were sometimes called. By the 18th Century, they indeed identified themselves as a separate ethnicity in relation to the Portuguese.
[7] “Santo Antônio do Paraibuna” is the ancient name for the modern city of Juiz de Fora, in the State of Minas Gerais/Brazil.
[8] “Tijuco” is the ancient name for the modern city of Diamantina, in the State of Minas Gerais/Brazil.
[9] “Palmyra” is the old name for the modern city of Santos Dumont, in the State of Minas Gerais/Brazil.
_________________________________
Historical Notes: As said in the previous chapter, there was indeed a conspiracy orchestrated by the elites of Minas Gerais against the colonial government, strongly influenced by the Illuminist ideas propagated by the French Revolution, and had substantial association with the Freemasonry (as its secretive and elitist nature allowed the formation of a single group of interest able to organize an anti-colonial conspiracy).
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