A jagunço (), from the Portuguese ''zarguncho'' (a weapon of African origin, similar to a short

lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

or ''chuzo''), is an armed band or

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

, usually hired by

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

owners and "colonels" in the backlands of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, especially in

Northeastern Brazil The Northeast Region of Brazil ( ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises nine: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, R ...

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

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

s and

indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of Work (human activity), 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 a prepaid lump sum, as paymen ...

s. Some farmers formed their own private

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

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

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

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 is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

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 (; 7 June 1897 – 28 July 1938), better known as Lampião (older spelling: ''Lampeão'', , meaning "lantern" or "oil lamp"), was probably the most successful traditional Brazilian bandit leader of the 20th c ...

is the most notorious example).Chandler, 2000. It was also applied as a pejorative term for the inhabitants of

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 ...

, a village founded by the religious mystic and messianic leader Antônio Conselheiro in the backlands of the state of

Bahia Bahia () 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, Mina ...

. The village was destroyed in October 1897 during the

War of Canudos The War of Canudos (, , 1896–1897) was a conflict between the First Brazilian Republic and the residents of Canudos in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern state of Bahia. It was waged in the aftermath of the Lei Áurea, abolition of sl ...

Notes

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. . Brazilian rebels Paramilitary organisations based in Brazil Empire of Brazil {{Brazil-hist-stub

See also

Notes

Sources