The Ragamuffin War explodes in southern Brazil

‘The regional revolution attracts Italian firebrand Garibaldi

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Before the sun rose over the windswept pampas on the morning of 20 September 1835, the stillness of Porto Alegre was broken by the thunder of hooves and gunfire. A band of rebels launched a daring assault on imperial forces at the Azenha Bridge, sparking what would become the longest and most dangerous provincial revolt of Brazil's regency period, known as the Ragamuffin War.

In the 1830s, Brazil was a constitutional monarchy governed by regents in the name of the young Emperor Pedro II. The imperial government's attempts to consolidate its control alienated many Brazilians, especially in the southernmost province, Rio Grande do Sul. The regional economy there, which revolved around