Recapture of Porto Alegre

Recapture of Porto Alegre
Part of the Ragamuffin War
A map of Porto Alegre in 1837
Date June 15, 1836 Location Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Empire of Brazil Result Imperial victory
Belligerents
Ragamuffin rebels	Empire of Brazil
Commanders and leaders
Marciano Pereira Ribeiro  (POW)	Manuel Marques de Sousa
Strength
Unknown	1 battalion
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The recapture of Porto Alegre was a rising by forces loyal to the Empire of Brazil during the Ragamuffin War in June 1836. Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, had fallen to rebel forces in September 1835, and was now retaken in a mutiny led by Manuel Marques de Sousa, who had been imprisoned there.

Background

Long-standing political trouble between the local elites in Rio Grande do Sul and Imperial politicians and bureaucrats in Rio de Janeiro had led to the start of the Ragamuffin War in September 1835. ^[1] One of the first actions in this conflict was the fall of Porto Alegre to the local rebels; this was an event of great importance, since Porto Alegre was a formidable defensive position, and also the provincial capital. ^[2]

Pelotas, another of the region's most important cities, also fell to the rebels in April 1836. With the city its commander, Manuel Marques de Sousa, also was captured; he was held captive aboard a prison ship anchored in Porto Alegre. ^[3]

Rising

Marques de Sousa, supported by his fellow prisoners, some of the population of Porto Alegre (chiefly German colonists from São Leopoldo), the 8th Caçadores Battalion, ^[4] and the corruption of their jailors, ^[5] rose up and took the city, which was only garrisoned by a police force. ^[4] They arrested provincial vice-president Marciano Pereira, named so by the rebels, military governor Silvano José Monteiro de Araújo and the main revolutionaries quartered in the city. The elderly Viscount of São Gabriel  [ pt ], who aided the rising, took up military command of the city. ^[6]

Soon afterwards, Bento Gonçalves marched towards the capital, asked for its surrender and then tried to take it by force; after this failed, he besieged it, ^[7] only lifting this siege after the rebel victory in the Battle of Seival. ^[8]

References

1. Spalding 1939, pp. 28–51.
2. Bento 1989.
3. Spalding 1939, pp. 175–181.
4. Fragoso 1938, p. 71.
5. Spalding 1939, pp. 65, 181–182.
6. Rio Branco 2012, pp. 353–354.
7. Spalding 1939, pp. 65–66.
8. Fragoso 1938, p. 81.

Sources

• Bento, Cláudio Moreira (1989). Porto Alegre - Memória dos Sítios Farrapos e a Administração de Caxias (PDF) (in Portuguese).
• Fragoso, Augusto Tasso (1938). A Revolução Farroupilha (1835-1845) (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: Oficinas Gráficas da Emp. Almanak Laemmert.
• Rio Branco, Barão do (2012). Efemérides Brasileiras (PDF) (in Portuguese). Brasília: Fundação Alexandre de Gusmão. ISBN   9788576313571. OCLC   842885255.
• Spalding, Walter (1939). A Revolução Farroupilha (PDF) (in Portuguese). Companhia Editora Nacional.