Jagunço
A Jagunço (), from the Portuguese ''zarguncho'' (a weapon of African origin, similar to a short lance or ''chuzo''), is an armed hand or bodyguard, usually hired by plantation owners and "colonels" in the backlands of Brazil, especially in Northern Brazil. They were hired to protect their employer, big land owner against invaders and feudal enemies, and also to control their slaves and indentured servants. Some farmers formed their own private militias with a number of heavily armed jagunços. There were also free-lancing or mercenary jagunços, who could be hired for temporary conflicts, as vigilantes, or for contract murders. Local folklore says that jagunços with yellow eyes were particularly fearsome and efficient. The term was later extended to name any kind of rural bandit or outlaw, such as the " cangaceiros" (of which Lampião is the most notorious example).Chandler, 2000. It was also applied as a pejorative term for the inhabitants of Canudos, a village founded by t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Devil To Pay In The Backlands
''The Devil to Pay in the Backlands'' (, "Great Backcountry, Backlands: Paths"; also translated as ''The Great Backlands and Their Paths'') is a novel published in 1956 by the Brazilian literature, Brazilian writer João Guimarães Rosa. The original title refers to the ''veredas'' - small paths through wetlands usually located at higher altitudes characterized by the presence of grasses and ''buritizais'', groups of the Moriche Palm, buriti palm-tree (''Mauritia flexuosa''), that criss-cross the Sertão region in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil, Minas Gerais as a labyrinthine net where an outsider can easily get lost, and where there is no single way to a certain place, since all paths interconnect in such a way that any road can lead anywhere. The English title refers to a later episode in the book involving an attempt to make a deal with the Devil. Most of the book's spirit is however lost in translation, as the portuguese language, Portuguese original is written in a register ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cangaço
''Cangaço'' () was a phenomenon of Northeast Brazil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hard way of life, and in a form of "social banditry" against the government, many men and women decided to become nomadic bandits, roaming the hinterlands seeking money, food, and revenge. Origin of the word By 1834, the term ''cangaceiro'' was already used to refer to bands of poor peasants who inhabited the northeastern deserts, wearing leather clothing and hats, carrying carbines, revolvers, shotguns, and the long narrow knife known as the . "Cangaceiro" was a pejorative expression, meaning a person who could not adapt himself to the coastal lifestyle. Types of banditry By the mid 19th century in that region, there were two main groups of loosely organized armed outlaws: the '' jagunços'', mercenaries who worked for whoever paid their price, usually land-owners who wanted to protect or expand their territorial limits and also de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antônio Conselheiro
Antônio Conselheiro, in English "Anthony the Counselor", real name Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel (March 13, 1830 – September 22, 1897) was a Brazilian religious leader, preacher, and founder of the village of Canudos, the scene of the War of Canudos (1896–1897), a civil rebellion against the central government which was brutally stamped out with the loss of more than 25,000 lives. Biography Early life Born at Quixeramobim, Antônio Maciel was the son of Maria Joaquina de Jesus and Vicente Mendes Maciel, a rugged family of cattle breeders in the sertão ("backlands"), the semi-arid zone of the Brazilian Northeast. His infancy was marked by a bloody feud with the powerful family of the Araújos, causing many deaths in both families, following the tragic cycle of vengeance and honour which were so common in these regions. After the death of his mother in 1834, his father married again, and Antônio and his two sisters suffered with the father's alcoholism and maltreatment ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eric Hobsbawm
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" ('' The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848'', '' The Age of Capital: 1848–1875'' and '' The Age of Empire: 1875–1914''), ''The Age of Extremes'' on the short 20th century, and an edited volume that introduced the influential idea of "invented traditions". Hobsbawm was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and spent his childhood mainly in Vienna and Berlin. Following the death of his parents and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, Hobsbawm moved to London with his adoptive family. After serving in the Second World War, he obtained his PhD in history at the University of Cambridge. In 1998, he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour. He was pres ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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War Of Canudos
The War of Canudos (, , 1895–1898) was a conflict between the First Brazilian Republic and the residents of Canudos in the northeastern state of Bahia. It was waged in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery in Brazil (1888) and the overthrow of the monarchy (1889), which resulted in a millenarian religious revival led by Antônio Conselheiro (who began attracting attention around 1874). The inhabitants of Canudos were "so numerous, employed such artful strategies and so committed" that it took four military campaigns to defeat them. The conflict came to a brutal end in October 1897, when a large fraction of the Brazilian army was deployed to bombard and overrun the settlement, raze it and slaughter nearly all its inhabitants. This conflict marked the deadliest civil war in Brazilian history. Background The conflict had its origins in the former settlement of Canudos (named ''Belo Monte'' by its inhabitants, meaning "Beautiful Hill" in Portuguese) in the semi-arid backc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest by area. Bahia's capital is the city of Salvador, Bahia, Salvador (formerly known as "Cidade do São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos", literally "City of the Saint Savior of the Bay of All the Saints"), on a Spit (landform), spit of land separating the Bay of All Saints from the Atlantic. Once a monarchial stronghold dominated by Agriculture in Brazil, agricultural, Slavery in Brazil, slaving, and ranching interests, Bahia is now a predominantly Working class, working-class industrial and agricultural state. The state is home to 7% of the Brazilian population and produces 4.2% of the country's GDP. Name The name of the state derives from the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Messianic Complex
A messiah complex (Christ complex or savior complex) is a state of mind in which an individual holds a belief that they are destined to become a savior today or in the near future. The term can also refer to a state of mind in which an individual believes that they are responsible for saving or assisting others. Religious delusion The term "messiah complex" is not addressed in the '' Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM), as it is not a clinical term nor diagnosable disorder. However, the symptoms as a proposed disorder closely resemble those found in individuals with delusions of grandeur or that they have grandiose self-images that veer towards the delusional. An account specifically identified it as a category of religious delusion, which pertains to strong fixed beliefs that cause distress or disability. It is the type of religious delusion that is classified as grandiose while the other two categories are: persecutory and belittlement. According to p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences. The term "mysticism" has Ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings. Derived from the Greek word μύω ''múō'', meaning "to close" or "to conceal", mysticism referred to the biblical, liturgical, spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity. During the early modern period, the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs and ideologies related to "extraordinary experiences and states of mind." In modern times, "mysticism" has acquired a limited definition, with broad applications, as meaning the aim at the "union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God". This li ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Canudos
Canudos is a municipality in the northeast region of Bahia, Brazil. The original town, since flooded by the Cocorobó Dam, was the scene of violent clashes between peasants and republican police in the 1890s. The municipality contains part of the Raso da Catarina ecoregion. History The town of Canudos was founded in the racially diverse Bahia state of northeastern Brazil in 1893 by Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel, an itinerant preacher from Ceara. Mendes Maciel had been wandering through the backroads and lesser-inhabited areas of the country from the 1870s onwards, followed by a band of loyal supporters. As his following swelled, he took on the name Antônio Conselheiro (''Antônio the Counselor'') and increasingly began to trouble the local authorities, who saw him as a Monarchist and thus a threat to their legitimacy. Settlement In 1893, following a protest over taxation and a violent melee with the police forces in Masseté, Conselheiro and his band settled on an abandoned ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lampião
"Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva (), better known as Lampião (older spelling: ''Lampeão'', , meaning "lantern" or "oil lamp"), was probably the twentieth century's most successful traditional bandit leader. The banditry endemic to the Brazilian Northeast was called ''Cangaço''. ''Cangaço'' had origins in the late 19th century but was particularly prevalent in the 1920s and 1930s. Lampião led a band of up to 100 ''cangaceiros'', who occasionally took over small towns and who fought a number of successful actions against paramilitary police when heavily outnumbered. Lampião's exploits and reputation turned him into a folk hero, the Brazilian equivalent of Jesse James or Pancho Villa. Biography Early life Virgulino was born on June 7, 1897, near the village of Serra Talhada, on his father's 'ranch' named ''Passagem das Pedras'' in the semi-arid backlands (''sertão'') of the state of Pernambuco. He was the third of nine children of José Ferreira da Silva and Maria Lopes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Contract Murder
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be a person, group, or organization. Contract killing has been associated with organized crime, government conspiracies, dictatorships, and vendettas. For example, in the United States, the Jewish-American organized crime gang Murder, Inc. committed hundreds of murders on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate during the 1930s and '40s. Contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to carry out the actual killing, making it more difficult for law enforcement to connect the hirer with the murder. The likelihood that authorities will establish that party's guilt for the committed crime, especially due to lack of forensic evidence linked to the contracting party, makes the case more difficult to attribute to the hi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |