“E de mato faria fogo": o banditismo no sertão do São Francisco, 1848-1884

Abstract

This research is about the banditry in Bahia’s backcountry on the second half of nineteenth century. The time line is between 1848 and 1884. Due to the large size of the backcountry and the difficulty to work with it, we decided to limit this research to the Carinhanha and Urubu counties that are near to the borders of Minas Gerais and Goias. This region is divided by the São Francisco River and it is situated on the middle of the São Francisco River. Currently, we know this region as the “Western Bahia”. The objective of this research is to analyze the banditry on the backcountry of Bahia between 1848 and 1884 and their relation with the regional society, as well as the battle of the Imperial States which was seem as “disorder”. Among the groups found in this research are the ones lead by Antonio Jose Guimarães who operated between 1848 and 1854, Chico Rocha and Neco who operated in the end of 1870s. The banditry’s studies help us understand not only the regional reality, but also the politics and social relation related to the banditry acts. From this banditry’s studies we should be able to analyze the social significance of the violence on the Bahia’s backcountry. Through this research we seek to analyze the social reality and the historical formation of the Bahia’s backcountry.