“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

conspiracies, the steady stream of slaves fleeing across the border into the Uruguayan
Republic was all to real and alarming to borderlands masters. Worse still, Brazilians of color,
both slave and free, increasingly appropriated patriotic calls to military service to demand a
greater role in riograndense society. These calls propelled the abolition movement forward
throughout the province in the 1870s, particularly around Porto Alegre. Gaspar Silveira
Martins, the dominant figure within the Liberal Party throughout the 1870s, reflected the
unease of the ranching class towards popular assertions of legal rights. As the abolition
movement advanced, he stressed the need for order so that “the enthusiasm for liberty does
not become prejudicial to the life of the citizens who constitute the more intelligent
classes.” 59
Thus, while gaúcho liberals may have consolidated their political authority over their
elite rivals, they continued to confront fierce and growing challenges to their economic
authority and social standing from below. Within this framework, concerns over order
played a prominent role in liberal discourse. Provincial recognition of the local autonomy of
powerful landowners rested precisely on their ability to keep the peace in the countryside
and check the “enthusiasm for liberty” that Martins identified. This in turn involved a
partnership between local elites and the state that centered on the courts. Elites in the
borderlands were expected to discipline their charges. They then utilized their control over
public institutions like the local courts to signal to provincial authorities their ability to
control potentially rebellious populations. 60
Conversely, the failure to maintain order constituted a serious charge that had to be
aggressively combated. For example, Athanasio dos Santos Loureiro brought charges for
59 Kittleson, The Practice of Politics, 124.
60 For a general discussion of popular politics in Rio Grande do Sul during this period
focusing on Porto Alegre, see Ibid.
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