Canudos: The Town at the End of the World

The chapters

1. Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free

   The Conselheiro

   A man in a blue tunic walks the backlands for twenty years. Behind him, a whole people.

   Sources: Euclides da Cunha, Os Sertões (1902)

2. Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free

   Belo Monte

   In the middle of the scrubland rises one of the largest towns in Bahia. The government calls it a plot.

   Sources: Os Sertões (1902); José Calasans

3. Chapter 3 · 5 min

   Three Defeats

   It begins with a load of timber. It ends with a colonel dead and Rio in uproar.

   Sources: Os Sertões (1902); Euclides, “Our Vendée” (1897)

4. Chapter 4 · 5 min

   The Fourth Expedition

   Ten thousand soldiers, twenty-one cannon, and a town that will not give up.

   Sources: Os Sertões (1902); Flávio de Barros, photographs (1897)

5. Chapter 5 · 5 min

   Os Sertões

   A reporter goes to cover a victory and comes back with a book that calls it a crime.

   Sources: Euclides da Cunha, Os Sertões (Laemmert, 1902)

Who’s who

The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.

• João AbadeChief of the People · Commander of the Streets · Catholic Guard
• Antônio VilanovaTrader · Belo Monte’s Store · Survivor
• Antônio Moreira CésarColonel · Head-Chopper · Third Expedition
• Flávio de BarrosExpedition Photographer · Photographia Americana · Salvador
• Euclides da CunhaEngineer · Reporter · Author of Os Sertões
• Antônio ConselheiroThe Pilgrim · Good Jesus Conselheiro · Founder of Belo Monte

What you’ll be able to tell

This story belongs to the journey “The Republic”. By the end of it, you can tell what the people really saw on 15 November, why the Republic needed four expeditions to defeat Canudos, and how Lampião got a captain’s commission.

Stories in this journey

1. Dom Pedro II: The End of the Empire
2. Canudos: The Town at the End of the World
3. Lampião: The King of the Cangaço