“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

Paulo, Sá Brito was one of the few jurists in the Brazilian borderlands that possessed formal
legal training in the 1830s. 123 Sá Brito reviewed the evidence and then laid out each step
taken by Prado Lima in confirming his rights in detail. He concluded that Leão’s acceptance
of the rental contract had established Prado Lima’s “possession and dominion over said
land.” 124 The verdict ratified Prado Lima’s maneuvers to establish his ownership of the
disputed tract. In doing so, it also bolstered the long-standing ties between the two
prominent vizinhos. They had drawn upon these connections to sustain their place in the
community. Sá Brito’s careful delineation of his old allies’ property claims had reaffirmed
the durability of their association.
As Prado Lima’s political fortunes declined throughout the 1850s, however, his
property rights became subject to increasing judicial scrutiny. In 1855, Teixeira filed suit on
behalf of Francisca Oliveira Lisboa against Prado Lima. 125 Lisboa sought to recover land
originally held by her husband, Colonel Gabriel Gomes Lisboa. According to her complaint,
her husband had originally acquired the land, located along the Quaraí River, through a
sesmaria grant in 1822. During the 1825 Uruguayan war, Lisboa lost possession of the tract
and the corresponding documentation establishing his title. The case then took an
interesting turn in 1831. Having lost his title, Lisboa nevertheless managed to secure a new
copy from the national government. Rather than return to his reclaimed land, he instead
opted to rent it to José Ribeiro de Almeida, the brother of Bento Manoel Ribeiro. José
123 Ibid., 57. Even by 1859, Sá Brito remained one of only three persons in Alegrete
possessing a legal degree. AHRGS. Câmara de Alegrete: Correspondência Expedida, Letter to
Illmo. Exmo. Senhor Commendador Patricio Corrêa da Camara Digmo. Vice Presidente d’esta Provincia
(May 12, 1859) (the other two men were Geminiano Antonio Vital de Oliveira, and
Francisco Vieira Braga Junior).
124 Joaquim Marchado Leão c. Joaquim dos Santos Prado Lima, 107bis-108.
125 Doña Francisca Oliveira Lisboa c. Joaquim dos Santos Prado Lima, APRGS. Alegrete.
Cartório Civil e Crime. Ações Ordinários. Maço 36, No. 851 (1855).
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