“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

Digging deeper, however, we can see how Fermin’s success in reaffirming the
national legal divisions separating him from his former masters in Brazil exacerbated faction
tensions. The case also demonstrates yet again how in this renewed conflict, citizenship
quickly reemerged as a central element in disputes over property rights. At the time of his
arrest in 1856, Fermin was carrying papers concerning a pending commercial litigation
between Sañudo and José Ferreira over José’s debts to Sañudo’s partner, Joaquim. 42 Sañudo
sought to garnish José’s assets located in Salto to compel payment on a substantial debt to
the partnership. In response, José appears to have first wanted to seize Fermin. Perhaps he
hoped to “sell” him back to Joaquim to satisfy the debt. When this failed and the court
declared Fermin to be free, José then offered to make payment by assigning Sañudo a
negotiable instrument from Canabarro. Sañudo flatly refused to accept the note. He argued
that “the documents [José] Ferreira has presented do not have any value in the present
matter, nor do I have anything to do with them.” 43
The reasons for Sañudo’s concern flowed directly from the nature of his own
alliances across the border in Brazil. Like his related commercial enterprise, Sañudo’s legal
practice in Salto relied heavily on ties to the Ribeiros and their allies on both sides of the
border. By the 1850s, the colorado attorney had developed a burgeoning practice protecting
the Ribeiro faction’s legal rights and commercial assets. By way of example, Sañudo served
as Manuel Ferreira Bica’s lawyer in numerous legal proceedings in Salto. He served as the
executor of Bica’s will and trustee of his estate upon his death in 1876. 44 Recall that Bica was
Bento Manuel Ribeiro’s brother-in-law and a close ally of the faction across the border. He
42 D. Agustín Sañudo c. D. José da Asunción Ferreira, cobrando especialmente 751 patacones.
43 Ibid., 30bis. The note in question originated from a commercial transaction between
Luis Gonzaga Ferreira and Antonio José de Vargas in 1852 in connection with Canabarro’s
1851 Uruguayan campaign against Oribe.
44 Testimonio del Testamento de D. Manuel Fereira Bica, 8bis.
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