Vale of Tears : Revisiting the Canudos Massacre in Northeastern Brazil, 1893-1897 / Robert M. Levine.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Levine, Robert M., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Conselheiro, Antônio, 1830-1897.

Conselheiro, Antônio.

Cunha, Euclides da, 1866-1909. Sertões.

Cunha, Euclides da.

Millennialism--Brazil--History--19th century.

Millennialism.

Brazil--History--Canudos Campaign, 1893-1897.

Brazil.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (366 p.)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, California : University of California Press, 1995.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The massacre of Canudos In 1897 is a pivotal episode in Brazilian social history. Looking at the event through the eyes of the inhabitants, Levine challenges traditional interpretations and gives weight to the fact that most of the Canudenses were of mixed-raced descent and were thus perceived as opponents to progress and civilization. In 1897 Brazilian military forces destroyed the millenarian settlement of Canudos, murdering as many as 35,000 pious rural folk who had taken refuge in the remote northeast backlands of Brazil. Fictionalized in Mario Vargas Llosa's acclaimed novel, War at the End of the World, Canudos is a pivotal episode in Brazilian social history. When looked at through the eyes of the inhabitants of Canudos, however, this historical incident lends itself to a bold new interpretation which challenges the traditional polemics on the subject. While the Canudos movement has been consistently viewed either as a rebellion of crazed fanatics or as a model of proletarian resistance to oppression, Levine deftly demonstrates that it was, in fact, neither. Vale of Tears probes the reasons for the Brazilian ambivalence toward its social history, giving much weight to the fact that most of the Canudenses were of mixed-race descent. They were perceived as opponents to progress and civilization and, by inference, to Brazil's attempts to "whiten" itself. As a result there are major insights to be found here into Brazilians' self-image over the past century.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

Introduction: The Millenarian Tradition

ONE. Canudos and the Visáo do Litoral: An Overview

TWO. The Backlands

THREE. New Jerusalem

FOUR. The Conflict

FIVE. Conselheiro's Vision

Conclusion: Canudos as a Millenarian Experience

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

GLOSSARY

INDEX

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 28. Okt 2020)

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780585181516

0585181519

9780520917187

0520917189

OCLC:

1202624136