“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...
“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ... “MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...
extent to which borderlands legalities were entangled with violence. The Ribeiros’ first act appeared to be the murder of Francisco de Assiz Paula Rocha, another public notary in Alegrete. According to witnesses, two National Guardsmen “stabbed Rocha in the street” and then fled to Freitas Valle’s residence. 36 The Diario do Rio Grande, a newspaper allied with the Liga against the Ribeiros’ progressistas, accused Luis Ferreira of orchestrating the crime. It further alleged that Mathias Teixeira de Almeida was the mastermind behind the wave of violence surrounding the legal investigation of his client and political ally. The paper claimed that Teixeira used the killing to not only intimidate political rivals, but also as a pretext to convene a military tribunal against Amaral and Prado Lima. The article continued: “gathering officials together for a pro forma investigation of such a horrible crime, [Ferreira] appointed as the director of the ad hoc war tribunal the well-known and flamboyant Mathias Teixeira de Almeida, who had served as the principal instigator of these intrigues.” 37 Eventually, Teixeira ordered soldiers to raid Prado Lima’s house. Amaral and his father-in- law fled the city. 38 The article lamented that little could be done against the men because they “enjoyed the protection of the Barão do Porto Alegre” and his Contra-Liga allies. 39 The increased violence against Prado Lima and Amaral no doubt reflected the Ribeiro faction’s growing confidence in its political position. By appointing da Silva as the new district judge in the town, Sinimbú signaled to the Ribeiros his support for their side in the judicial and electoral conflict. The Diario de Rio Grande also suggested that political motivations underlay da Silva’s appointment. The paper noted that the judge was Teixeira’s 36 Justiça ex-oficio c. Tenente Gemoniano Manoel Casal, APRGS. Alegrete. Cartório Civil e Crime. Processos Crimes, Maço 83, No. 2912 (1860). 37 Maneol de Freitas Valle c. José Vaz Alves de Castro Amaral, Diario do Rio Grande, No. 1250 (January 30, 1853), included with the case. 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 166
“intimate friend and relative.” 40 The appointment also shed further light on Teixeira’s role as a conduit between local factional conflicts and provincial level politics. Teixeira had initially petitioned Sinimbú, bringing the ongoing factional and electoral conflict swirling around Alegrete’s courthouse to the attention of the government in Porto Alegre. Through his petition, Teixeira provided Sinimbú with a vehicle to support the Ribeiros and the Contra- Liga while maintaining an ostensibly neutral position vis-à-vis the local electoral struggle. In effect, Teixeira’s legal maneuverings ensured that he and the Ribeiros received valuable political patronage from the provincial president. This strengthened their position in the town and their ability to bestow further patronage through the courts on their allies. Further, once the provincial government responded by naming a new district judge, Teixeira ensured that his faction took full advantage by launching both a criminal investigation and a violent assault against Prado Lima and Amaral. The sustained factional conflict over Alegrete’s judicial post also reveals how borderlands legalities shaped the way local rivals engaged with each other. Although Teixeira and Amaral each resorted to violence to control the courthouse, they equally worked to frame their own conduct as in the service of neutral legal principles. We can see this again in Amaral’s testimony to da Silva following his arrival. Amaral claimed that the animosity between Teixeira and himself stemmed from an earlier incident between the two men. Amaral alleged that Teixeira had attempted to obtain the dismissal of rape charges against one of his clients by bribing him. Amaral refused. Since that incident, however, Teixeira had made no secret of his intention to “employ any means in order to persecute [him]” until he left his judicial post and abandoned the town. 41 In leveling these charges, 40 Ibid. 41 Manoel De Freitas Valle c. José Alves De Castro Amaral, Juiz Municipal, 293. 167
- Page 125 and 126: unanimous and respected testimony o
- Page 127 and 128: powerful figures like Urquiza, depe
- Page 129 and 130: CHAPTER 3 SOVEREIGN CONFLICTS THE R
- Page 131 and 132: conflicts between peripheral ranche
- Page 133 and 134: further agreed to provide payments
- Page 135 and 136: Sosa almost immediately responded.
- Page 137 and 138: funds, the imperial government took
- Page 139 and 140: Throughout the early 1830s, the Uru
- Page 141 and 142: Fernandes Braga, the provincial pre
- Page 143 and 144: Frustrated by the lack of progress,
- Page 145 and 146: cataloguing illegal property confis
- Page 147 and 148: also provided prominent local elite
- Page 149 and 150: As the 1850s dawned, the persistent
- Page 151 and 152: traffic along the Uruguay. Rosas fi
- Page 153 and 154: would order, they intend to be resp
- Page 155 and 156: economic and political relationship
- Page 157 and 158: fed back into broader political dis
- Page 159 and 160: advance their visions for a new nat
- Page 161 and 162: Estado Oriental and had fought at C
- Page 163 and 164: Brazilian officials opened secret n
- Page 165 and 166: The 1855 occupation reinvigorated e
- Page 167 and 168: end political violence in the inter
- Page 169 and 170: important) but also dealt with defi
- Page 171 and 172: Ribeiros, Prado Lima possessed land
- Page 173 and 174: move to Alegrete were unclear. Duri
- Page 175: verification of filings in his foru
- Page 179 and 180: men. They were capable of protectin
- Page 181 and 182: Nolasco and Vianna responded that t
- Page 183 and 184: in 1834. Joaquim dos Santos Prado L
- Page 185 and 186: Vital de Oliveira, securing his ele
- Page 187 and 188: controlled the appointment of distr
- Page 189 and 190: military control. By engaging in th
- Page 191 and 192: faction’s strength. In particular
- Page 193 and 194: mattered greatly to their own power
- Page 195 and 196: the parties and the public, with ea
- Page 197 and 198: matter, he was an outsider. Tristan
- Page 199 and 200: Tristani then attempted to attack h
- Page 201 and 202: litigation in Alegrete, questions o
- Page 203 and 204: throughout the country that his wor
- Page 205 and 206: his wife. He claimed that she “wa
- Page 207 and 208: and the titles of each litigant in
- Page 209 and 210: judgment declaring their rival’s
- Page 211 and 212: CHAPTER 5 POLITICAL POWER AND PROPE
- Page 213 and 214: property of Joaquim dos Santos Prad
- Page 215 and 216: acknowledged by both court and poss
- Page 217 and 218: Paulo, Sá Brito was one of the few
- Page 219 and 220: Teixeira claimed that Prado Lima ha
- Page 221 and 222: the trial court’s judgment. The c
- Page 223 and 224: lands in question in 1833. The cour
- Page 225 and 226: The appearance of testimony by Prad
“intimate friend and relative.” 40 The appointment also shed further light on Teixeira’s role as<br />
a conduit between local factional conflicts and provincial level politics. Teixeira had initially<br />
petitioned Sinimbú, bringing the ongoing factional and electoral conflict swirling around<br />
Alegrete’s courthouse to the attention of the government in Porto Alegre. Through his<br />
petition, Teixeira provided Sinimbú with a vehicle to support the Ribeiros and the Contra-<br />
Liga while maintaining an ostensibly neutral position vis-à-vis the local electoral struggle. In<br />
effect, Teixeira’s legal maneuverings ensured that he and the Ribeiros received valuable<br />
political patronage from the provincial president. This strengthened their position in the<br />
town and their ability to bestow further patronage through the courts on their allies.<br />
Further, once the provincial government responded by naming a new district judge, Teixeira<br />
ensured that his faction took full advantage by launching both a criminal investigation and a<br />
violent assault against Prado Lima and Amaral.<br />
The sustained factional conflict over Alegrete’s judicial post also reveals how<br />
borderlands legalities shaped the way local rivals engaged with each other. Although<br />
Teixeira and Amaral each resorted to violence to control the courthouse, they equally<br />
worked to frame their own conduct as in the service of neutral legal principles. We can see<br />
this again in Amaral’s testimony to da Silva following his arrival. Amaral claimed that the<br />
animosity between Teixeira and himself stemmed from an earlier incident between the two<br />
men. Amaral alleged that Teixeira had attempted to obtain the dismissal of rape charges<br />
against one of his clients by bribing him. Amaral refused. Since that incident, however,<br />
Teixeira had made no secret of his intention to “employ any means in order to persecute<br />
[him]” until he left his judicial post and abandoned the town. 41 In leveling these charges,<br />
<br />
40 Ibid.<br />
41 Manoel De Freitas Valle c. José Alves De Castro Amaral, Juiz Municipal, 293.<br />
167 <br />
Change language