Abstract
This paper explores unique testimony about an indigenous conspiracy that took place in the hinterland of Bahia, Brazil in 1797, analyzing the only source available on this episode: an investigation conducted by the judge of Itapicuru de Cima at the order of the governor of Bahia. The region, known as the Sertão, was marked by violent land conflicts between native inhabitants and the Europeans throughout the colonial period. The Kiriri, which were the largest population in this region, were defeated by the Portuguese army in the late seventeenth century and ruled by the Jesuits up to 1758, when the aldeias (missionary villages) became vilas (civil villages). The 1797 uprising took place when an indigenous leader named José Félix Cabral tried to assume command of the civilian militia to expel the Portuguese from land pertaining to the vila of Pombal, which had been the Canabrava village. Cabral was arrested, but his nephew Victoriano Francisco continued the protest, trying to gather indigenous people from other villages in the region. We do not know what happened next, but analysis of the documentation reveals indigenous agency at a fundamental time in Brazilian history.
Keywords
Brazilian Indians; Agency; Indigenous uprising; Bahia; 18th Century