Os The forgotten of Guanabara Bay

Brazilian prisoners in Portugal, 1894-96

Abstract

The republic regime in the United States of Brazil, in 1889, would trigger a series of internal conflicts. The republican government was contested almost from the beginning of the Provisional Government, where the serious disturbance was added in the States and in the National Congress of the Federal Republic of the United States of Brazil, which would lead the country to plunge into a civil war, called the Federalist Revolution of 1893-95. In this article, we intend to approach the role of the Portuguese naval force present in Guanabara Bay, in Rio de Janeiro, from August 1893, but in particular on the action of its commander Augusto de Castilho. From March 1894, not only by considering the situation and the decisions taken but the Commander Augusto de Castilho contribution to the diplomatic conflict that was generated, following his humanitarian decision that led to the withdrawal of more than five hundred men from an inevitable situation of incarceration and possible atrocious reprisals. It is about these men saved on March 13, “the Brazilian emigrants” that we focus on the article and let you know a little of their history after arriving in Portugal.