Emboabas' War
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The War of the ''Emboabas'' () was a conflict in
colonial Brazil Colonial Brazil (), sometimes referred to as Portuguese America, comprises the period from 1500, with the Discovery of Brazil, arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves ...
waged in 1706-1707 and 1708-1709 over newly discovered gold fields, which had set off a rush to the region between two generations of Portuguese settlers in the viceroyalty of Brazil - then the
Captaincy of São Vicente The Captaincy of São Vicente (1534–1709) was a land grant and colonial administration in the far southern part of the colonial Portuguese Empire in Colonial Brazil. History In 1534 King John III of Portugal granted the captaincy to Martim ...
. The discovery of gold set off a rush to the region, Paulistas asserted rights of discovery and non-Paulistas challenged their claims. Although the Portuguese crown sought more control in the area and the Paulistas sought protection of their claims, the Emboabas won. The crown re-assessed its position in the region and made administrative changes subsequently.


History

Starting from the village of
São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga () was the village that developed as São Paulo, Brazil in the region known as Campos de Piratininga. It was founded as a religious mission and a Jesuit Royal College by priests José de Anchieta and Man ...
(now São Paulo) the
Bandeirantes ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous peoples during the early modern period. T ...
had explored most of what is now southeastern and southwestern Brazil, effectively taking advantage of the
union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns (; ) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas diplomacy) of the two separate realms under a single ...
of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
from 1580 to 1640 to incorporate all the former Spanish territories then west of the
Tordesilhas Line The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in Tordesillas, Spain, on 7 June 1494, and ratified in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian west of t ...
. Their goal was to capture new Indian slaves (which put them in conflict with the
Jesuit Reductions The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...
), recapture runaway slaves and find precious minerals. Their search was rewarded in an area just north of their original
Capitania A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule administrations of medieval feudal governm ...
, until then inaccessible, which became
Minas dos Matos Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
and is now Minas Gerais. However the mines, while rich, were in a vast area they could not effectively settle, so they attracted a gold rush from Portugal. The newcomers, called Emboabas, found an alternative, shorter route to the sea; the
Caminho Novo Estrada Real (, ''Royal Road'') was an epithet applied to the roads built and maintained by the Portuguese Crown both in Portugal itself and in the Portuguese overseas territories. Presently it is used to designate a set of colonial-era tou ...
das Minas dos Matos Gerais to
São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
on
Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay (, , ) is an oceanic bay in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro (city), Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, a ...
, bypassing and alienating the original discoverers. The
Bandeirantes ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous peoples during the early modern period. T ...
, or Paulistas, tried to assert rights of precedence but were defeated. As a result, the provinces of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
and
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
were formed, their capital cities of Vila Rica do Ouro Preto and
São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, respectively, became the new centers of power in the vice-kingdom of Brazil. São Sebastião (later shortened to its present name of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
) became the capital city of the viceroyalty and later of the
United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was a pluricontinental monarchy formed by the elevation of the Portuguese colony named State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom and by the simultaneous union of that Kingdom of Brazil ...
. As soon as news of the discovery of gold spread thousands of outsiders moved to the area and became known pejoratively as "Emboabas". The term is derived from the Tupi ''mbóaba'' which literally means "hairy leg" (''mbo'' (leg) + ''tab'' (hairy)). Originally the term referred to birds with feathered legs and as, unlike the Paulista pioneers, the outsiders always wore knee-high boots with their trousers tucked in, giving them the name. FURTADO, Júnia Ferreira. ''José Rodrigues Abreu e a geografia imaginária emboaba da conquista do ouro''. In: ''Modos de Governar - Ideias e práticas políticas no Império Português séculos XVI a XIX''. BICALHO, Maria Fernanda & FERLINI, Vera Lúcia do Amaral (Orgs.). 1ª ed. São Paulo: Alameda, 2005, p.278 Alternatively, according to the Dicionário Houaiss ''emboaba'' could be derived from the Tupi words ''mbo'' (do) and ''tab'' (hurt) meaning "those who invade or attack" and would be applied to a group rather than an individual.


Consequences

* Regulation of the distribution of mines between Emboabas and Paulistas. * Regulation of collection of the ''quinto do ouro'' tax. * Breakup on 3 November 1709 of the Province of São Vicente into ''São Paulo e Minas de Ouro'' and ''Rio de Janeiro'', ruled directly by the Crown. * São Paulo attained city status. * End of the wars in the mining areas with the crown assuming the administrative control of the region. * The defeat of Paulistas caused some of them to move west where, years later, they would discover new gold deposits in the current states of
Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...
,
Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...
and
Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...
. * The production of gold after the war increased so that Minas Gerais became the richest region of Brazil between 1740 and 1760.


References


Further reading

*Cardozo, Manoel S. "The ''Guerra dos Emboabas'', Civli War in Minas Gerais, 1708-1709". ''Hispanic American Historical Review'' 22 (August 1942), 470-492. * Boxer, Charles R. ''The Golden Age of Brazil, 1695-1750''. 1964. * Franco, Francisco de Assis Carvalho, "Dicionário de Bandeirantes e Sertanistas do Brasil", Ed. São Paulo University, São Paulo, Ed Itatiaia, Belo Horizonte (1989) * Leme, Pedro Taques de Almeida Paes, "Nobiliarquia Paulistana Histórica e Genealógica", Ed. São Paulo University (1980, São Paulo). * Mello, José Soares de. ''Emboabas''. São Paulo: Governo do estado de São Paulo, 1942. * Miranda, Ana. "O retrato do rei" São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1991. Romance brasileiro. * Taunay, Afonso de E., "Relatos Sertanistas", Ed. São Paulo University (1981, São Paulo) * Taunay, Afonso de E., "História das Bandeiras Paulistas", Ed. Melhoramentos (São Paulo) * Ribeiro, Berta. O índio na história do Brasil. Editora Global, 1987. {{Authority control 1700s conflicts 1700s in Brazil Colonial Brazil Wars involving Brazil Wars involving Portugal History of Minas Gerais History of São Paulo (state)