The War of Canudos: Rescuing historical memory

Published on November 21, 2012 · Updated on August 10, 2025

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War of Canudos: Bahia revives the village of Canudos

Bahia will build its first scenographic city in honour of Canudos.

The State Secretary for Tourism, Domingos Leonelli, announced that the project to build the city will represent the village of Canudos, in the hinterland, and also aims to revive the history of Blessed Antônio Conselheiro and the War of Canudos.

The project cost the state R$ 5 million and includes educational, artistic and cultural activities, such as open-air plays. One of these will recount historical events from the life of Antônio Conselheiro.

In addition to being a priest, he held several other professions and was one of Brazil’s most important social leaders. Considered a rebellious mystic and spiritual leader of the Canudos settlement, he commanded thousands of sertanejos (backcountry dwellers), indigenous people and newly freed slaves.

Guerra dos Canudos

The War of Canudos

The War of Canudos is considered one of the main conflicts that marked the period between the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of the Republican regime in Brazil.

Before examining the creation of the Canudos settlement and the beginning of the fighting, it is essential to consider some passages from the life of its main leader: Antônio Conselheiro.

Born in the village of Quixeramobim, in the interior of Ceará, Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel grew up in a family of modest means. Throughout his childhood, he received a varied education that introduced him to geography, mathematics and foreign languages.

At the age of twenty-seven, after the death of his father, he took over the family business, which he abandoned after failing. At the same time, he married a cousin and worked as a lawyer in the cities of Campo Grande and Ipu.

After his wife left him, Antônio began to wander around the northeastern interior. On this journey he met a sculptor called Joana Imaginária, with whom he had a son.

In 1865, Conselheiro left his wife and son and returned to his pilgrimage. During his travels, he began to build churches and cemeteries and became known for his grey beard, blue robe, leather sandals and the staff he carried.

Influenced by personal setbacks and the socio-economic problems of the interior, Antônio Conselheiro began to preach in defence of a form of primitive Christianity.

He argued that people should free themselves from oppression and injustice, and seek to overcome problems in accordance with Christian religious values.

With words of faith and justice, Conselheiro attracted many rural people who identified with his message.

From the outset, the ecclesiastical authorities and dominant sections of the population saw Antônio Conselheiro’s social and religious renewal as a threat to the established order.

In 1876 he was arrested for the murder of his wife and mother and sent back to Ceará.

After his release, Conselheiro moved inland to Bahia. With a growing following and preaching his ideals against the existing order, he founded the community of Belo Monte on the banks of the Vaza-Barris River in 1893.

Canudos, as it was called by its opponents, became a threat to the interests of those in power.

On the one hand, the Church attacked the community, claiming that Conselheiro’s followers were dedicated to heresy and corruption. On the other side, politicians and landowners, using the media of the time, said that Antônio Conselheiro was a monarchist and was leading a movement to overthrow the republican government established in 1889.

Accused by influential and powerful sectors of society, Canudos was targeted by republican forces. Contrary to the government’s expectations, the community managed to resist four military attacks.

In the last expedition alone, which included machine guns and cannons, the entire fighting population (men and boys) was massacred. The community was reduced to a few hundred women, elderly people and children. Antônio Conselheiro, in poor health, died a few days before the final battle. When they found his body, they cut off his head and sent it to study the characteristics of the skull of a “fanatical madman”.

Bahia.ws is the largest tourism and travel guide for Bahia and Salvador.

Written by Willy Sievert

Editor of Bahia.ws since its founding in 2009. Based in Salvador, he travels frequently across the Northeast and all of Brazil to keep the guides up to date. Learn more about Willy Sievert →