A SPECTRUM ROUND THE SERTONS: ANSWERED AND CANUDOS AND THE TRAIN OF HISTORY

Abstract

This article examines references to the War of Canudos during the repression of the
Contestado movement in the southern region of Brazil, between 1912-1916. I propose that the emergence of the conflict between state repressive forces and rebels of the Contestado in the rural areas of Bahia created a political and social trauma both in the Republican regime and the institutional memory of the Brazilian army. The sources for this research draw on journalistic material and reports by military officials involved in the military repression of the Contestado revolt.