Os Sertões
Encyclopedia
Os Sertões (1902) is a book written by the Brazil
ian author Euclides da Cunha
, widely considered one of the greatest achievements of Brazilian
and even World literature. Mixing science and literature, the author narrates the story of a war that happened in the end of the 19th century, in Canudos
, a settlement of Bahia
's Sertão
("backland"), an extremely arid region where, even now, struggles against poverty, drought
and political corruption continue. During the war (1893–1897) against the republican army, the sertanejos (inhabitants of the backlands) were commanded by a messianic leader called Antonio Conselheiro
.
Influenced by theories like the Positivism
and Social Darwinism
from the end of the 19th century, Cunha discussed the forming of a new Brazilian Republican nation and also its racial composition and its promising future of progress and civilization.
The book is originally divided into three parts:
1. “A Terra” (the land): portrays the northeastern backland and the war scenario.
2. “O Homem” (the man): exposes the land’s inhabitants and their race composition, explaining the individual by its phenotype and emphasizing the opposition between the coast and the backlands men.
3. “A Luta” (the fight): narrates the conflict between the Republican army and the sertanejos who, despite been considered “racially degenerate”, succeed in winning many battles, even though they lost the war.
Throughout the book, Euclides seems to have sympathy for the oppressed sertanejos and to doubt the progress and modernity of Republican ideals. Actually, Os Sertões is still considered one of the most important works from this historical period, an effort to represent the Nation as a totality. Despite its outdated scientific and historical ideas, Cunha's book is still valid because of its literary language and as a representation of the ideals of the intelligentsia at the end of the 19th century in Brazil.
In 1981, a version of the story was rewritten by Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa
as The War of the End of the World
. Vargas Llosa also dedicates his novel to Cunha.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian author Euclides da Cunha
Euclides da Cunha
Euclides da Cunha was a Brazilian writer, sociologist and engineer. His most important work is Os Sertões , a non-fictional account of the military expeditions promoted by the Brazilian government against the rebellious village of Canudos, known as the War of Canudos...
, widely considered one of the greatest achievements of Brazilian
Brazilian literature
Brazilian literature is written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822...
and even World literature. Mixing science and literature, the author narrates the story of a war that happened in the end of the 19th century, in Canudos
Canudos
Canudos was a town founded in the racially diverse Bahia state of northeastern Brazil in 1893 by Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel. Antonio was an itinerant preacher from Ceara who had been wandering through the backroads and lesser-inhabited areas of the country from the 1870s onwards, followed by a...
, a settlement of Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
's Sertão
Sertão
In Portuguese, the word sertão first referred to the vast hinterlands of Asia that Lusitanian explorers encountered. In Brazil, the geographical term referred to backlands away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America in the early sixteenth century...
("backland"), an extremely arid region where, even now, struggles against poverty, drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
and political corruption continue. During the war (1893–1897) against the republican army, the sertanejos (inhabitants of the backlands) were commanded by a messianic leader called Antonio Conselheiro
Antônio Conselheiro
Antônio Conselheiro was a Brazilian religious leader, preacher, and founder of the village of Canudos, the scene of the War of Canudos , a civil rebellion against the central government which was brutally stamped out with the loss of more than 15,000 lives.-Early...
.
Influenced by theories like the Positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
and Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is a term commonly used for theories of society that emerged in England and the United States in the 1870s, seeking to apply the principles of Darwinian evolution to sociology and politics...
from the end of the 19th century, Cunha discussed the forming of a new Brazilian Republican nation and also its racial composition and its promising future of progress and civilization.
The book is originally divided into three parts:
1. “A Terra” (the land): portrays the northeastern backland and the war scenario.
2. “O Homem” (the man): exposes the land’s inhabitants and their race composition, explaining the individual by its phenotype and emphasizing the opposition between the coast and the backlands men.
3. “A Luta” (the fight): narrates the conflict between the Republican army and the sertanejos who, despite been considered “racially degenerate”, succeed in winning many battles, even though they lost the war.
Throughout the book, Euclides seems to have sympathy for the oppressed sertanejos and to doubt the progress and modernity of Republican ideals. Actually, Os Sertões is still considered one of the most important works from this historical period, an effort to represent the Nation as a totality. Despite its outdated scientific and historical ideas, Cunha's book is still valid because of its literary language and as a representation of the ideals of the intelligentsia at the end of the 19th century in Brazil.
In 1981, a version of the story was rewritten by Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...
as The War of the End of the World
The War of the End of the World
The War of the End of the World is a 1981 novel written by Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. It is a novelization of the War of Canudos conflict in late 19th-century Brazil.-Plot summary:...
. Vargas Llosa also dedicates his novel to Cunha.