Tenentist revolts in Sergipe

Last updated
First revolt of the 28th Battalion of Caçadores
Part of Tenentism
Trincheira na praia em Sergipe.jpg
The rebels' coastal defenses
Date13 July – 3 August 1924
Location
Sergipe, Brazil
Result Loyalist victory
Belligerents
Rebels
Loyalists
Commanders and leaders
  • Eurípedes de Lima
  • Augusto Maynard Gomes
  • João Soarino de Mello
  • Marçal Nonato de Faria

Officers from the 28th Battalion of Caçadores (28th BC) of the Brazilian Army launched two tenentist revolts in Sergipe in 1924 and 1926. The first, inspired by the São Paulo Revolt of 1924, removed state governor Maurício Graccho Cardoso on 13 July and dominated the capital Aracaju until its defeat by loyalist troops on 3 August. [1] The second, inspired by the passage of the Prestes Column through Piauí, was launched on 18 January 1926 and suppressed in four hours of combat. [2] The uprisings marked a combative political spirit in the battalion, [3] and one of its leaders, Augusto Maynard Gomes, was appointed governor of Sergipe after the Revolution of 1930. [4]

Contents

The first revolt

In response to the tenentist revolt that began on 5 July 1924 in São Paulo, several battalions from Brazil's Northeast region received orders to embark for São Paulo, where they would join the loyalist forces. [5] But the 28th BC, in Sergipe, was full of supporters of the revolt, and until a year earlier it was commanded by lieutenant colonel Bernardo de Araújo Lima, head of the garrison in uprising in Rio Claro, São Paulo. Based in the central area of Aracaju, its officers were immersed in street conversations, especially among the middle class. [6]

Conspiracies soon began for an uprising in solidarity with that in São Paulo. [7] For logistical reasons, an uprising in the Northeast was not in the plans of the rebels in São Paulo, and even they would be surprised by the news of its outbreak. [6] The conspirators' goal in Sergipe was to prevent the 28th BC and other battalions from boarding for São Paulo, either by convincing them to join the revolt or by attracting them into a confrontation. In this way, the loyalist pressure on the São Paulo rebels would be relieved. [8]

In the early hours of 13 July, captain Eurípedes Lima and lieutenants Maynard and Soarino took charge of the battalion. The soldiers present were divided into three platoons: one stayed with captain Euripedes in the barracks and the others left at 2:30 with the lieutenants. Soarino attacked the Government Palace, and Maynard, the most difficult target, the Police Battalion barracks. The Palace's guard, all lit up, was stunned by the shots of the attackers, hidden in the garden. After they fled, Soarino reinforced Maynard. The police barracks were surrounded and surrendered when the ammunition ran out. The rebels had no casualties, while the loyalists had two dead and two injured. Major Jacintho Dias Ribeiro, commander of the 28th BC, went to the battalion and tried to impose his authority, but was arrested by captain Eurípedes. Other officers who disagreed with the revolt were also arrested. [9]

At 5:00 the state governor was surrounded in his residence, where he had only six guards. The rebels' objective was not statewide, but national, the deposition of president Artur Bernardes. So they invited the governor to join. When he refused, he was arrested. At dawn, the uprising was already much more successful than the one that occurred in São Paulo, which did not manage to depose the state government. The rebels offered the government to general Calazans, who also refused. The solution was to establish a military junta. [10] There were no significant changes in public administration, and most authorities remained in their posts. Civil servants received no benefits or reprisals. [11] Captain Euripedes exercised command of the battalion, but the charismatic leadership was that of lieutenant Maynard. [12]

Many volunteers presented themselves to the battalion; [13] when their numbers dwindled, captain Euripides mobilized the reservists on 26 July. [11] From an initial force of 316 men, the rebels numbered 770. [13] They had the sympathy of various social classes, [14] but rumors about the loyalist reaction resulted in an exodus of Aracaju's population to the countryside. [15] The rebels sought a deal with the local oligarchs, but these, in turn, saw the uprising as a threat to their power and mobilized their "patriots" to stop the revolt. [16]

In order to defend Aracaju from an amphibious invasion, the rebels turned off the lighthouse, liad mines on the shore, removed the signaling buoys [17] and dug trenches on the beaches. Captain Eurípedes remained in Aracaju, while lieutenants Maynard and Soarino organized land defenses, respectively on the northern (Rosário do Catete and Carmo) and southern (São Cristóvão and Itaporanga) fronts. [18] The loyalist reaction was led by general Marçal Nonato de Faria, commander of the 6th Military Region. [19] He had at his disposal the destroyer Alagoas , which appeared on the horizon in Aracaju on the 23rd, creating a stir. [20]

The real offensive came from land. [19] The 20th, 21st and 22nd battalions, which also had orders to board for São Paulo, remained in the Northeast. [5] On 27 July, these three units and another contingent of the police were of Bahia were in Salgado, in the south, totaling 1,267 men. [21] In the north, 332 irregulars and police soldiers from Alagoas were in Japaratuba. [22] With the rebels surrounded, general Marçal called on them to surrender, recalling their numerical superiority and the failure of the rebellion in São Paulo. [23] The leaders of the revolt fled Aracaju, and the loyalists entered the city without resistance on 3 August. [24]

Maynard fled to São Paulo, where he was captured. He awaited trial imprisoned in the 28th Battalion, where he was popular among the troops and the prison regime was liberal, allowing the planning of a new uprising. On the night of 8 January 1926, he and his former companions led the battalion to strategic points in the city. This time, the police reaction was stronger and the uprising was put down after four hours of fighting, in which Maynard was injured. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenentism</span> Brazilian military political philosophy of the 1920s

Tenentism was a political philosophy of junior army officers who significantly contributed to the Brazilian Revolution of 1930 that ended the First Brazilian Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">João de Deus Mena Barreto</span> Brazilian military interim president (1930)

João de Deus Mena Barreto was a Brazilian general and politician who briefly served as the president of Brazil while being a member of the provisional military junta of 1930. Born into a historically military family, Mena Barreto took up a military career in 1890. He fought in several internal conflicts, including the Federalist Revolution, a civil war, the 18 of the Copacabana Fort revolt, and a 1924 revolt in the North. With the Revolution of 1930 in Brazil, Mena Barreto and Augusto Tasso Fragoso orchestrated an uprising in the Federal District, overthrowing President Washington Luís and establishing the 1930 junta. After the junta transferred power to revolutionaries, Mena Barreto became the federal interventor for Rio de Janeiro and a mediator in the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutionalist Revolution</span> 1932 civil war in Brazil

The Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 is the name given to the uprising of the population of the Brazilian state of São Paulo against the Brazilian Revolution of 1930 when Getúlio Vargas assumed the nation's presidency; Vargas was supported by the people, the military and the political elites of Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraíba. The movement grew out of local resentment from the fact that Vargas ruled by decree, unbound by a Constitution, in a provisional government. The 1930 Revolution also affected São Paulo by eroding the autonomy that states enjoyed during the term of the 1891 Constitution and preventing the inauguration of the governor of São Paulo, Júlio Prestes, who had been elected president of Brazil in 1930, while simultaneously overthrowing President Washington Luís, who was governor of São Paulo from 1920 to 1924. These events marked the end of the First Brazilian Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copacabana Fort revolt</span> 1922 Brazilian revolt

The Copacabana Fort revolt, also known as the 18 of the Fort revolt, was one of several movements coordinated by rebel factions of the Brazilian Army against the president of Brazil, Epitácio Pessoa, and the winner of the 1922 presidential election, Artur Bernardes. Acting under the figure of marshal Hermes da Fonseca and supporting the defeated faction, the Republican Reaction, the rebels tried a wide revolt in Rio de Janeiro on 5 July 1922, but only managed to control Fort Copacabana and the Military School of Realengo, in addition to, outside the city, a focus in Niterói and the 1st Military Circumscription, in Mato Grosso. They were defeated, but the revolt marks the beginning of tenentism and the events that led to the end of the First Brazilian Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coluna Prestes</span>

The Coluna Prestes, also known as Coluna Miguel Costa-Prestes, in English Prestes Column, was a social rebel movement that broke out in Brazil between 1924 and 1927, with links to the Tenente revolts. The rebellion's ideology was diffuse, but the main issues that caused it were the general dissatisfaction with the oligarchic First Brazilian Republic, the demand for the institution of the secret ballot, and the defense of better public education. The rebels marched some 25,000 km through the Brazilian countryside. They did not aim to defeat the forces of the Federal government in battle, but rather to ensure their survival and their ability to continue threatening the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazilian communist uprising of 1935</span> Brazilian military revolt against President Getúlio Vargas

The Brazilian communist uprising of 1935 was a military revolt in Brazil led by Luís Carlos Prestes and leftist low-rank military against Getúlio Vargas's government on behalf of the National Liberation Alliance. It took place in the cities of Natal, Recife, and the capital Rio de Janeiro between 23 and 27 November 1935. The uprising was supported by the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), then called the Communist Party of Brazil, and the Communist International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">São Paulo Revolt of 1924</span> Rebellion in Brazil

The São Paulo Revolt of 1924, also called the Revolution of 1924, Movement of 1924 or Second 5th of July was a Brazilian conflict with characteristics of a civil war, initiated by tenentist rebels to overthrow the government of president Artur Bernardes. From the city of São Paulo on 5 July, the revolt expanded to the interior of the state and inspired other uprisings across Brazil. The urban combat ended in a loyalist victory on 28 July. The rebels' withdrawal, until September, prolonged the rebellion into the Paraná Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombing of São Paulo</span> Event of São Paulo Revolt of 1924

The bombing of São Paulo, which took place during the São Paulo Revolt of 1924, was the largest artillery and air attack in São Paulo's history. From 5 to 28 July 1924, rebel and loyalist forces used bombing in their fight for the city; the rebels had up to 26 artillery pieces from the Brazilian Army, while the loyalists had more than a hundred guns and six bombers from the Army Aviation. Artillery, and especially loyalist artillery, was largely responsible for the conflict's casualties, most of whom were civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban combat in the São Paulo Revolt of 1924</span>

Urban combat in the São Paulo Revolt of 1924 was the most violent warfare of its kind in Brazilian history, raging in the city of São Paulo from 5 to 27 July of that year. Rebel tenentist revolutionaries, led by general Isidoro Dias Lopes, intended to take over the city in a few hours, but were trapped in combat in the central region against forces loyal to the government of president Artur Bernardes. On 8 July, the loyalists withdrew to the city's outskirts, organizing themselves in general Eduardo Sócrates' "Division of Operations in the State of São Paulo", restarting the fight in the working-class neighborhoods to the south and east of the city. There was not a complete siege; the rebels had roads open to their territory inland, along which they withdrew from the city on the night of 27 July and continued their rebellion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">São Paulo Revolt of 1924 in the interior</span>

The interior of São Paulo was the scene of the São Paulo Revolt of 1924 from July, parallel to the battle for the city of São Paulo, until August and September, when the rebels left the capital and headed for the state border, first to the south of Mato Grosso and then to Paraná. There is record of revolt in 87 municipalities and support for the revolt in another 32. Local political factions joined one side or the other in the conflict, the impact of which was felt even in municipalities never traversed by the revolutionary army.

The foreign battalions were three military units in the São Paulo Revolt of 1924 recruited from among immigrant communities by tenentist rebels in the city of São Paulo. 750 foreigners and their descendants, from a wide variety of nationalities, signed up; they were usually workers motivated by hunger and unemployment caused by the conflict. They formed the German, Hungarian and Italian battalions, in which even the commanders and officers were immigrants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death Column</span>

The Death Column was a military unit in the São Paulo Revolt of 1924, part of the tenentist forces in arms against the president of Brazil, Artur Bernardes. Commanded by João Cabanas, an officer of the Public Force of São Paulo, the column went on campaign on 19 July 1924, fighting loyalist forces in São Paulo and Paraná until the end of April 1925, when its commander left the revolutionary forces. Column members continued to fight as part of the Miguel Costa-Prestes Column. The denomination of "Death Column" was never official, and among the revolutionaries it was called "the battalion" or, after August 1924, the "5th Battalion of Caçadores", subordinated to the 3rd Brigade, commanded by Miguel Costa.

The Battle of Três Lagoas was an offensive by tenentist rebels against Brazilian government forces on 17–18 August 1924, extending the São Paulo Revolt into southern Mato Grosso. Led by Juarez Távora, the rebels suffered heavy losses to loyalist troops from Minas Gerais, under the command of colonel Malan d'Angrogne, in the town of Campo Japonês. This defeat frustrated the rebels' ambition to settle in Mato Grosso, forcing them to start the Paraná Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraná Campaign</span>

The Paraná Campaign was the continuation of the São Paulo Revolt of 1924 in western Paraná from 1924 to 1925, concluding with the formation of the Miguel Costa-Prestes Column. Rebel tenentists, led by Isidoro Dias Lopes, withdrew from São Paulo, went down the Paraná River and settled in the region from Guaíra to Foz do Iguaçu, from where they faced the forces of the Brazilian government, commanded by general Cândido Rondon from October 1924. In April 1925, another rebel column, led by Luís Carlos Prestes, arrived from Rio Grande do Sul and joined the São Paulo rebels. They entered Paraguay to escape the government siege and returned to Brazil through southern Mato Grosso, continuing their armed struggle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rio Grande do Sul Revolt of 1924</span>

The Rio Grande do Sul Revolt of 1924 was triggered by tenentist rebels from the Brazilian Army and civilian leaders from the Liberating Alliance on 28–29 October of that year. The civilians, continuing the 1923 Revolution, wanted to remove the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Borges de Medeiros, while the military were against the president of Brazil, Artur Bernardes. After a series of defeats, in mid-November the last organized stronghold was in São Luiz Gonzaga. In the south, guerrilla warfare continued until the end of the year. From São Luiz Gonzaga, the remnants of the revolt headed out of the state, joining other rebels in the Paraná Campaign and forming the Miguel Costa-Prestes Column.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rio Grande do Sul Revolt of 1925</span>

The Rio Grande do Sul Revolt of 1925, also called Revolution of 1925, was triggered by opposition civilians, supported by tenentists, aiming to overthrow the state government of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and support the Prestes Column. The revolt was planned by exiles, defeated in the previous 1924 revolt, who still recognized the leadership of general Isidoro Dias Lopes. The plan envisaged uprisings in the army and invasions across the border by groups of exiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightning Column</span>

The Lightning Column was the last tenentist uprising, fought in southern Brazil from November 1926. Under the command of general Isidoro Dias Lopes, exiled in Argentina, military and civilian leaders of the government's opposition in Rio Grande do Sul combined incursions across Brazilian borders with uprisings in army garrisons in Rio Grande do Sul. The uprising, contrary to the federal and state governments, intended to indirectly support the Prestes Column, which was in Mato Grosso. Some conspirators prematurely started the revolt before the scheduled date, compromising the campaign plan, which was quickly dismantled by the loyalist army and state forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State of emergency in Brazil (1922–1927)</span>

A state of emergency was in force in Brazil for much of the period from 1922 to 1927, comprising the end of president Epitácio Pessoa's government (1919–1922), most of Artur Bernardes' government (1922–1926), and the beginning of Washington Luís' government (1926–1930). The measure was decreed after the Copacabana Fort revolt, on 5 July 1922, and remained in force in several regions of Brazil's territory until the end of the subsequent tenentist revolts in February 1927, with the exception of the first months of 1924. At its peak in 1925, it was in force in the Federal District and ten states. The state of emergency allowed the political elite of the First Brazilian Republic to defend itself with authoritarian measures at a time of crisis, but the apparent tranquility after its suspension came to an end with the 1930 Revolution.

The Brazilian state of Mato Grosso was the focus of tenentist military conspiracies and the stage of a series of revolts in the 1920s: by the command of the Military Circumscription of Mato Grosso (CMMT), in Campo Grande in 1922, by the 10th Regiment of Independent Cavalry of Bela Vista in 1924, and the 17th Battalion of Caçadores of Corumbá in 1925. Tenentist forces from other states also made incursions: the column from the São Paulo Revolt, in 1924, and the Prestes Column in 1925 and again in 1926–1927. A state of emergency was in force in the state from August 1924 until the end of 1925, and again from October 1926 to February 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of Artur Bernardes</span>

Artur Bernardes' tenure as the 12th president of Brazil lasted from 15 November 1922, after he defeated Nilo Peçanha in the 1922 presidential election, until 15 November 1926, when he transferred power to Washington Luís. A representative of the so-called "milk coffee policy" and the last years of the First Brazilian Republic, Bernardes ruled the country almost continuously under a state of emergency, supported by the political class, rural and urban oligarchies, and high-ranking officers of the Armed Forces against a series of tenentist military revolts.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Donato 1987, p. 175, 209.
  2. 1 2 Lemos 2015, p. 4.
  3. ↑ Cardoso 2015, p. 139.
  4. ↑ Lemos 2015, p. 6.
  5. 1 2 Maynard 2008, p. 93.
  6. 1 2 Meirelles 2006, p. 186-187.
  7. ↑ Lemos 2015, p. 3.
  8. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 38.
  9. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 45-52.
  10. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 52-54.
  11. 1 2 Maynard 2008, p. 89.
  12. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 116.
  13. 1 2 Maynard 2008, p. 67.
  14. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 70.
  15. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 78.
  16. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 89, 108.
  17. ↑ Meirelles 2002, p. 196.
  18. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 81-82.
  19. 1 2 Meirelles 2002, p. 196-197.
  20. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 104.
  21. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 102.
  22. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 108.
  23. ↑ Lemos 2015, p. 3-4.
  24. ↑ Maynard 2008, p. 118-119.

Bibliography

  • Cardoso, Célia Costa (2015). "1964 em Sergipe: política e repressão". Democracia e autoritarismo: estratégias e táticas políticas. Vinhedo: Editora Horizonte.
  • Donato, Hernâni (1987). Dicionário das batalhas brasileiras – dos conflitos com indígenas às guerrilhas políticas urbanas e rurais. São Paulo: IBRASA.
  • Lemos, Renato (2015). "GOMES, Augusto Maynard". Dicionário da Elite Política Republicana (1889-1930) (PDF). Rio de Janeiro: CPDOC FGV.
  • Maynard, Andreza Santa Cruz (2008). A caserna em polvorosa: a revolta de 1924 em Sergipe (PDF) (Masters thesis). Universidade Federal de Pernambuco.
  • Meirelles, Domingos João (2002). As noites das grandes fogueiras: uma história da Coluna Prestes (9 ed.). Rio de Janeiro: Record.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.