Federalist Revolt of 1893

In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, a challenge to Governor Júlio de Castilhos arose in 1893. Rebels joined forces with the naval rebellion of Admiral Custódio de Melo to oppose the republican regime of Floriano Vieira Peixoto, convulsing Rio Grande do Sul in a civil war that took 10,000 casualties before its end in August 1895. Led by Gaspar Silveira Martins, Federalists ranged from monarchists to dissident Republicans, united by hatred of Castilhos and resentment of his Republican Party's monopoly on power. They called for his ouster, abrogation of his authoritarian, positivist 1891 state constitution, and Brazil's conversion to a parliamentary regime. Support from Peixoto and the army gave Castilhos military superiority. Rebels raided north into Santa Catarina in November 1893, linking up with naval rebels who had taken that state's capital, and into Paraná, to take Curitiba on 20 January 1894, before turning back. The death of leading rebel general Gumercindo Saraiva, assumption of the presidency by Prudente de Morais, and defeat of Admiral Luís Felipe Saldanha Da Gama's invasion of Rio Grande in April 1895, led to the revolt's demise.

Two and a half years of fighting, with mass atrocities on both sides, bred hatreds that deeply divided Rio Grande for three decades. These years also confirmed the Castilhista machine's control of the state and laid the foundations for future Riograndense strength in national politics.

See alsoCastilhos, Júlio dexml .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Joseph L. Love, Rio Grande do Sul and Brazilian Regionalism, 1882–1930 (1971).

Silvio do Duncan Baretta, "Political Violence and Regime Change: A Study of the 1893 Civil War in Southern Brazil" (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Pittsburgh, 1985).

Additional Bibliography

Campos, Maria da Carmo and Martha Geralda Alves d'Azevedo. Protasio Alves e o seu tempo, 1859–1933. Porto Alegre: Já Editores, 2006.

Ferreira, Mariluci Melo. Tramas de poder: A política no Rio Grande do Sul, século XIX. Passo Fundo: Universidade do Passo Fundo, 2003.

Kraay, Hendrik. Race, State, and Armed Forces in Independence-era Brazil: Bahia, 17902s–1840s. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004.

Needell, Jeffrey D. The Party of Order: Conservatives, the State, and Slavery in the Brazilian Monarchy, 1831–1871. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001.

Summerhill, William Roderick. Order against Progress: Government, Foreign Investment, and Railroads in Brazil, 1854–1913. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003.

                                                    Joan Bak