19 ғасырдағы Бразилиядағы Риу-Гранди Республикасы

Revolutionary state in 19th century Brazil

The Riograndense Republic, often called the Piratini Republic (República Rio Grandense or República do Piratini), was a de facto state that seceded from the Empire of Brazil and roughly coincided with the present state of Rio Grande do Sul. It was proclaimed on 11 September 1836 by general Antônio de Sousa Neto as a direct consequence of the victory obtained by gaúcho oligarchic forces at the Battle of Seival [pt] (1836) during the Ragamuffin War (1835–1845). It had a constitution adopted in 1843 and was recognised only by the United Kingdom, France, and Uruguay. In 1839, the Riograndense Republic formed a confederation with the short lived Juliana Republic (República Juliana) which proclaimed its independence in the same year. November 1839, however, saw the war result in the defeat and disappearance of the Juliana Republic. The Riograndense Republic had five capitals during its nearly nine years of existence: the cities of Piratini (for which it is often called Piratini Republic), Alegrete, Caçapava do Sul (official capitals), Bagé (for only two weeks), and São Borja. The war between the Gaúchos and the Brazilian Empire was ended by the Ponche Verde Treaty.

The economy of the then Province of São Pedro of Rio Grande do Sul of the Empire of Brazil was mainly focused on the production of jerky and leather. The province depended entirely on the domestic market, but the overvalued exchange rate and the tariff benefits then offered meant that imported beef was cheaper. Thus, the estancieiros of the region, among them the famous Bento Gonçalves, began a rebellion against the Imperial Government. After a meeting, it was decided that armed militias would be formed under the leadership of Gonçalves inside the province to take over the provincial government. The initial objective to take over the province's government was successfully achieved, the rebels then planned to enter into negotiations with the imperial regent Diogo Antônio Feijó to demand a new provincial government acceptable to the regional elite. Meanwhile, the newly appointed Imperial Governor of the Province, José de Araújo Ribeiro, completely rejected by that elite, took office nevertheless. This was seen by the landowners as a declaration of war. Araújo Ribeiro then began gathering his soldiers who had been scattered since October, and hunting down Farroupilhos. He ordered the Provincial Assembly to be closed and removed Bento Gonçalves from the command of the National Guard. In Rio de Janeiro the imperial government closed the customs house in the provincial capital Porto Alegre for as long as the city was in the hands of the rebels, restricting the arrival of ships. Soon open conflict began, as imperial forces secured the city and rebels retaliated against them.

Until the year 1840, one could perceive a period of ascent ragamuffin, with several victories in the military field. After this period, a situation of decay, beginning with the fall of Laguna, was perceptible. With the Imperials controlling the great cities, the rebels were retained in the interior, and soon internal quarrels began. Bento Gonçalves, still in the year 1840, due to the failures, waved to the empire with the possibility of an agreement. Bento asked the imperials for safeguards so that his comrades could cross with impunity the places conquered by the empire, in order to settle with the imperial chiefs the details of a collective surrender of the ragamuffin rebels. They actually carried a letter of this design. But there was another oral message to be given to those leaders, which could not be written. The maneuver, however, was so well thought out and executed that it would fool even his fellow combatants, and motivated a letter of disapproval written by Domingos José de Almeida, then vice president and Minister of Finance of the Riograndense Republic. The fighting continued on several fronts. Meanwhile, a Constituent Assembly had been called on 10 February 1840, but maneuvers of Bento Gonçalves, who did not want to lose power, led to the promulgation only in 1842 of the Constitution of the Republic. Facing internal conflicts, economic and military problems against the forces of the Empire, the Republic was forced to start the peace negotiations. In 1844, Fructuoso Rivera proposed to broker peace between legalists and republicans. Manuel Luís Osório was sent to the camp of Rivera, where he met with Antônio Vicente da Fontoura, to inform that the Duke of Caxias, leader of the imperial forces, rejected the proposal of peace, but that there could be negotiations with the government without third parties. Vicente da Fontoura was sent to court to discuss peace. Caxias received instructions from the empire, which feared the advance of Juan Manuel de Rosas in the disputed territory, to propose honorable conditions to the rebels, such as an amnesty of officers and men, incorporating them into the Imperial Brazilian Army with their ranks preserved, allowing the Governor of the Province to be elected by the Provincial Assembly, and raising taxes on meat imported into Brazil from the Platine region. However, one question remained unanswerable, that of slaves freed by the Republic to serve in the Republican army. For the Empire of Brazil, it was unacceptable to recognize the freedom of slaves given by a sedition, although it did annihilate the leaders of the same revolt. Finally, on 1 March 1845, peace was signed: the Ponche Verde Treaty, after almost ten years of war. Among its main conditions were the complete amnesty to the rebels, the liberation of the slaves who fought in the Republican Army and the election of a new provincial president by the ragamuffins. Partial or full compliance with the treaty still raises discussions to this day. The impossibility of a regionally restricted abolition of slavery, the persistence of animosity between local leaders and other administrative and operational factors may have at least hindered, if not prevented, full compliance with it. Such discussion is referred to in the main article of this subject. The Riograndense Republic was reincorporated into the Brazilian Empire.

The official flag of the Riograndense Republic was green, yellow and red. There were differing accounts for its design: one version indicated that the colors symbols of Brazil, yellow green and red, symbolized the republic, intersecting them; another that the green represented the forest of the pampas, the red, the revolutionary ideal, and the yellow the riches of the gaucho territory; another still that it combined the green of the Portuguese flag and the yellow of the Spanish flag (respectively, the most important and second most important colonizers of the territory of the state of Rio Grande do Sul), interspersed by the vertical red stripe symbolising federation in the platine region from the time of Jose Gervasio Artigas (1764 1850). However, green would only be added to the Portuguese flag in 1910, 65 years after the end of the Farroupilha Revolution, which discards this latest version. Likewise, the current flag of the state of Rio Grande do Sul comes to have the same colors, having been added the coat of arms of the Riograndense Republic in the middle of the flag.

The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata at the time were being unified by the dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas and tried to recover the Uruguayan territory (Platine War), not excluding also the possibility of aid to the Riograndense separatists. Juan Manuel de Rosas, the Argentine dictator, offered support so that David Canabarro continued the fight. Juan Manuel de Rosas was removed from power in Argentina in a confrontation involving Brazilian troops. Alongside the de facto recognition by the Argentine Confederation, Uruguay started to recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Riograndense Republic, but the diplomatic process was not completed. The United Kingdom and France recognised the new republic under the condition that its port would be open to French and British ships.

The parishes of Rio Grande do Sul were linked to the bishopric of Rio de Janeiro, which brought several obstacles to the Riograndense Republic. To break with the Empire of Brazil, the farroupilhas separated completely from the court. On 22 June 1838, they named Father Chagas as apostolic vicar, denying obedience to the bishop of Rio de Janeiro, creating a schism in the Catholic Church of the then Province of St. Peter of Rio Grande do Sul. The apostolic vicar had true religious authority: and appointed priests and dispensed marriages. Father Chagas was excommunicated and his acts were declared unlawful by the bishop of Rio de Janeiro the maximum authority of the Catholic Church in Brazil. Likewise, most of the Gaucho clergy adhered to the new ecclesiastical authority. The situation lasted until the end of the Ragamuffin Revolution (1835–45). With the defeat, the priest Chagas sought a reconciliation with the bishop of Rio de Janeiro, having been secretary of the new bishop of Porto Alegre.