JOÃO FRANCISCO DE SOUZA AND LOURENÇO BORGES JUSTINIANO

Two Indigenous Leaders in the Construction of Independent Brazil (Bahia, 1822 – 1833)

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated the participation of indigenous people in the construction of an independent Brazil, mainly through the work of councilors, judges and captains-major in indigenous villages. Indigenous protagonism in this context was greatly favored by the expansion of political space and the politicization of indigenous leaders during the period of implementation of the Indian Directory, which ensured indigenous self-government, even though subject to a rigid tutelary regime guided by a program of “reform of customs”. This article recovers fragments of the life trajectories of two indigenous leaders involved in the process of independence in Bahia: João Francisco de Souza and Lourenço Borges. By describing and analyzing their actions, we seek to demonstrate the various forms of indigenous participation in the construction of an independent Brazil, highlighting the autonomous and proactive insertion of indigenous leaders in that context and demonstrating how the writing of short life trajectories can reveal, albeit in a fragmented way, the complexity of that process.