Euclides Da Cunha - Backlands: The Canudos Campaign

An important new translation of a fundamental work of Brazilian literature Written by a former army lieutenant, civil engineer, and journalist, Backlands is Euclides da Cunha's vivid and poignant portrayal of Brazil's infamous War of Canudos.

The deadliest civil war in Brazilian history, the conflict during the 1890s was between the government and the village of Canudos in the northeastern state of Bahia, which had been settled by 30,000 followers of the religious zealot Antonio Conselheiro.

Far from just an objective retelling, da Cunha's story shows both the significance of this event and the complexities of Brazilian society. Published here in a new translation by Elizabeth Lowe, and featuring an introduction by one of the foremost scholars of Latin America, this is sure to remain one of the best chronicles of war ever penned.

Euclides da Cunha’s Os Sertões, described by some as a national epic that is also “the bible of the Brazilian nation,” concludes with a minuscule—at least in contrast with most other sections in the book—chapter called “Two Lines,” although it really contains only one, a compound clause: “It is truly regrettable that in these times we do not have a Maudsley, who knew the difference between good sense and insanity, to prevent nations from committing acts of madness and crimes against humanity.”

Much has been read—and unread—into this enigmatic sentence and into the entire narrative. What was da Cunha’s ultimate message in his reportorial description of a popular upheaval at the end of the nineteenth century in the distant, unsophisticated northeastern region of Canudos, far away from the nation’s urbane metropolitan centers at the time? Do these lines blame Brazil, a country with a difficult path to independence, for its destructive response to a social upheaval that was portrayed as an internal threat to national stability? Are the indigents known as cangaceiros who engaged in the revolt, following their charismatic leader, Antônio Conselheiro (Portuguese for “the counselor”), solely to be blamed for the tragic outcome?

Before the last chapter, the focus was the analysis of Conselheiro’s cranium as a source of crime and lunacy. With his final observation, the author shifts from the individual as the cause of national unrest to a larger scope: the collective responsibility for the safe-keeping of the nation as a whole. Clearly, da Cunha meant these last words to push his message to new heights.

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