A Jagunço (), from the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

''zarguncho'' (a weapon of African origin, similar to a short

lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike s ...

or ''chuzo''), is an armed hand or bodyguard, usually hired by

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

owners and "colonels" in the backlands of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, especially in

Northern Brazil The North Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Norte do Brasil; ) is the largest region of Brazil, corresponding to 45.27% of the national territory. It is the second least inhabited of the country, and contributes with a minor percentage in the national ...

. They were hired to protect their employer, big land owner against invaders and feudal enemies, and also to control their slaves and

indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repaymen ...

s. Some farmers formed their own private

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

s with a number of heavily armed jagunços. There were also free-lancing or

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

jagunços, who could be hired for temporary conflicts, as

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

s, 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 "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 Brazi ...

is the most notorious example).Chandler, 2000. It was also applied as a pejorative term for the inhabitants of Canudos, a village founded by the religious mystic and messianic leader

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 ...

in the backlands of the state of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

. The village was destroyed in October 1897 during the

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 overt ...

Sources

* Hobsbawm, Eric ''Bandits'' London, 1969. * Chandler, Billy Jaynes. ''Bandit King: Lampião of Brazil'' Texas A&M University Press, 2000. . * Seal, Graham. ''Outlaw Heroes in Myth and History'' Anthem Press, 2011. . * Waggoner, John ''Brazil Adventure Guide'' Hunter Publishing, Inc. 2008. .

Notes

Brazilian rebels Paramilitary organisations based in Brazil {{Brazil-hist-stub

See also

Sources

Notes