ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Cariris war 1682-1713

Synopsis
Also known as the Barbarians War or the Cariri Confederation, it was a long-lasting conflict that consisted of recurring events of rebellion, armed resistance and war, opposing several Indigenous nations in the interior of Brazil to Portuguese settlers and authorities. The expansion of Portuguese interests, namely farming and cattle raising, towards the semiarid regions of Bahia, Pernambuco, Ceará and Rio Grande gained traction during the second half of the 17th century, after the final expulsion of the Dutch in 1654. This provoked the violent reaction of many Indigenous groups, some of which had been previously allied with the Dutch, such as the Cariris and the Tarairiús. As happened in other colonial conflicts, the Portuguese came out on top thanks to the use of backwoodsmen from São Paulo, who also destroyed maroon communities. In spite of what the name might suggest, the Cariri Confederation was never a great and cohesive alliance. The Indigenous groups did not hold an overarching strategy against the Portuguese empire and its Indian allies, and they fought mostly alone. The rebellious groups did not all belong to the Cariris, either. More recent scholarship has shown that other groups resisted the Portuguese incursions in the semiarid region of colonial Brazil, always unsuccessfully.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 30 years. Name in sources: Guerra dos Bárbaros, Confederação dos Cariris. Location: Semiarid region of Brazil (in Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, São Francisco River ) Country (current): Brazil. Monarchy: Portuguese. Main participants: Indigenous. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Anti-colonial, Resistance to conquest. Leadership: Several indigenous leaderships. Relevance: high.

Further reading
ALMEIDA, Horácio (1977). "Confederação dos Cariris ou Gerra dos Bárbaros", Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro 316 , pp. 407-433. PUNTONI, Pedro (2002). A Guerra dos Bárbaros. Povos indígenas e a colonização do sertão nordeste do Brasil, 1650-1720. São Paulo: Hucitec, pp. 77-87.
Cite this entry

Cruz, Miguel Dantas da (2024). "Cariris war 1682-1713", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. http://atlas.cidehusdigital.uevora.pt/revolt/cariris-war-1682-1713/ (accessed on 06 Junho 2024).