The War of Contestado (1912 – 1916) took place in the Southern Region of Brazil, between the borders of Paraná and Santa Catarina , and it was a socio-political conflict caused by the dispute over these territories, so it is called contested.
Causes
The reason for the conflict was due to the fact that the construction of the railroad that would link São Paulo to Rio Grande do Sul left many people in poor living conditions to the detriment of the interests of the colonels and the North American company Brazil Railway Company .
In order to build the railroad, the Brazil Railway Company needed labor, thus bringing many people to the region.
At the same time, the government ceded a large tract of land, about 15,000 meters, on the borders of the State of Paraná and Santa Catarina, but took advantage of the pretext and expropriated the peasants' land because it discovered that it could profit from yerba mate. , as well as the existing wood in the locality.
When the railway line was ready, the company did not guarantee the return of people who had moved to the region, remaining there without any support; there is also the fact that the peasants were unemployed and without their land to work, situations that caused the impoverishment of the population of this region.
The leader
At a time of great difficulties for the population, José Maria de Santo Agostinho appears , a pilgrim monk who was sensitive to the situation of the peasants, who respected pilgrims and any messianic movement a lot, so José Maria soon gained followers.
Without government authorization, José Maria, who among his preaching spoke about the end of the world in the 2000s, was against the republic and had a reputation as a healer because he studied herbs and with them helped many sick people, founded a community to receive the oppressed. – Holy Square , which is why the Contestado War became also known as Holy War .
Concerned with the course of events, and claiming that the monk was a troublemaker and an enemy of the government, the latter sends soldiers to the region in order to pursue the monk and his followers, and with the aim of breaking up the community and forcing the withdrawal of the peasants.
The war began with the arming of soldiers against the agricultural tools of the farmers, which led to the death of many people, most of them peasants, including their leader, who was killed in the Battle of Irani – the place where they had fled.
Consequences
After intense conflicts, with many deaths, after four years of war, the Paraná-Santa Catarina Limits Agreement is signed , in Rio de Janeiro.
The cities of Mafra, Joaçaba, Chapecó and Porto União appear and a new regional culture is being built in Brazil.
Read Also :State of Santa Catarina.
Rebellions of the Republic
The republic's wars are characterized by the struggle for the rights of the less favored, whose voice was interrupted by armed confrontations.
In addition to the Contestado War, the Canudos War, led by Antônio Conselheiro, the Chibata Revolt, the Copacabana Fort Revolt are other examples of revolts from that period.
Want know more? Read:
- War of Straws
- Revolt of the Whip
- Revolt of Copacabana Fort
- Brazil