Rebellion in the Backlands

work by Cunha

Also known as: “Os sertões”

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July 13, 2026

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Rebellion in the Backlands (Os sertões) is a seminal work by Brazilian author Euclides da Cunha. Originally a military engineer and journalist, Cunha reported on the Canudos War (1896-1897), a brutal conflict between government forces and a messianic community in Brazil's backlands.1

Cunha's narrative vividly recounts the rebellion and its violent suppression, offering insights into the challenging environment and its inhabitants. The book is significant for being one of the first to protest the neglect of Brazil's frontier populations. It also challenged prevailing pseudoscientific racial theories of the time, advocating for the assimilation of mixed-race Brazilians into national life. The work brought national attention to the "other" Brazil, the interior backlands overlooked by the government.12

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Brazil
The coffee presidents
…historical narrative, Os Sertões (1902; Rebellion in the Backlands), described a bloody struggle between government forces and a group of messianic separatists in the untamed interior of Bahia state; against this tragic backdrop, Cunha reflected on the shortcomings of Brazilian society, including the pervasive divide between rural and urban traditions:…
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…historical narrative, Os Sertões (1902; Rebellion in the Backlands), described a bloody struggle between government forces and a group of messianic separatists in the untamed interior of Bahia state; against this tragic backdrop, Cunha reflected on the shortcomings of Brazilian society, including the pervasive divide between rural and urban traditions:…
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Brazilian literature
Modernismo and regionalism
…journalist, wrote Os sertões (1902; Rebellion in the Backlands), a moving account of a fanatical religious and social uprising in the Northeast. His work called national attention to the “other” Brazil, that of the interior backlands neglected by the government. José Pereira da Graça Aranha wrote Canaã (1902; Canaan), a…
Read More
…journalist, wrote Os sertões (1902; Rebellion in the Backlands), a moving account of a fanatical religious and social uprising in the Northeast. His work called national attention to the “other” Brazil, that of the interior backlands neglected by the government. José Pereira da Graça Aranha wrote Canaã (1902; Canaan), a…
Read More

Euclides da Cunha
…historical narrative Os sertões (1902; Rebellion in the Backlands), the first written protest in behalf of the forgotten inhabitants of Brazil’s frontier.
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…historical narrative Os sertões (1902; Rebellion in the Backlands), the first written protest in behalf of the forgotten inhabitants of Brazil’s frontier.
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