Bento Gonçalves da Silva (23 September 1788 – 18 July 1847) was a Brazilian army officer, politician and rebel leader of the

Riograndense Republic The Riograndense Republic, often called the Piratini Republic ( or ), was a ''de facto'' state that seceded from the Empire of Brazil and roughly coincided with the present state of Rio Grande do Sul. It was proclaimed on 11 September 1836 by ...

. He was the first President of the Riograndense Republic and, by all accounts, one of the most prominent figures in the history of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

. Although a staunch monarchist, Gonçalves led the rebel forces in the

Ragamuffin War The Ragamuffin War, also known as the Ragamuffin Revolution or Heroic Decade, was a republican uprising that began in southern Brazil, in the province (current state) of Rio Grande do Sul in 1835. The rebels were led by Generals Bento Gonçalv ...

. Radicals within the rebel ranks forced the rebellion to become republican, which Gonçalves opposed. Still, even though he fought against the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...

, Gonçalves and his troops celebrated the birthday of the young emperor

Pedro II of Brazil ''Don (honorific), Dom'' PedroII (Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed the Magnanimous (), was the List o ...

. After the conflict ended with the victory of the Empire, Gonçalves paid his respect to Pedro II by kissing his hand during the latter's trip to Rio Grande do Sul in December 1845. His main companions in arms during the rebellion were Antônio de Sousa Neto and

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Bento Goncalves Da 1788 births 1847 deaths Goncalves da Silva, Bento Goncalves da Silva, Bento Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Goncalves da Silva, Bento Heads of state of former countries Brazilian Roman Catholics