Case file · Sacred site
Canudos (Belo Monte) and Antônio Conselheiro
In 1893 the lay preacher Antônio Conselheiro settled with his followers at Canudos in the Bahian backlands and called it Belo Monte. Within a few years it held tens of thousands of people. The Republic destroyed it in October 1897 after four military expeditions.
1893 CE · -9.95, -39.15 · status: official
The account
Conselheiro preached penance and the coming end of the world, and opposed the new Republic's civil marriage and taxes. Rumours that he was a monarchist plotter led to the war. Euclides da Cunha's 'Os Sertões' (1902) made the war famous. The original site now lies under the Cocorobó reservoir, and the point here is approximate.
Connections in the atlas
- Pedra Bonita massacre
- Santa Dica and the 'Day of Fire' at Lagolândia
- José Maria and the 'holy city' of the Contestado
- Caldeirão de Santa Cruz do Deserto