Revolt of the Lash

The Revolt of the Lash (Portuguese: Revolta da Chibata) was a naval mutiny in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in late November 1910. It was the direct result of the use of whips ("lashes") by white naval officers when punishing Afro-Brazilian and mulatto enlisted sailors.

In 1888, Brazil became the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery. The move was opposed by Brazilian elites, and they led a successful coup d'état in 1889. The resulting instability contributed to several revolts and rebellions, but at the beginning of the new century rising demand for coffee and rubber enabled Brazilian politicians to begin plotting the country's transformation into an international power. A key part of this would come from modernizing the Brazilian Navy, which had been neglected since the revolution, by purchasing battleships of the new "dreadnought" type. While enormously expensive, they garnered much international attention before their delivery with two brand-new cruisers in 1910.

Social conditions in the Brazilian Navy, however, were not keeping pace with the new technology. Elite white officers were in charge of mostly black and mulatto crews, many of whom had been forced into the navy on long-term contracts. These officers frequently utilized corporal punishment on their crewmen for even minor offenses, something that had been banned in most other countries and in the rest of Brazil. In response, sailors used the new warships for a carefully planned and executed mutiny in November 1910. They took control of both new dreadnoughts, one of the cruisers and an older warship—a total that gave the mutineers the kind of firepower that dwarfed the rest of the Brazilian Navy. Led by João Cândido Felisberto, the mutineers sent a letter to the government that demanded an end to what they called the "slavery" being practiced by the navy.

While the executive branch of the Brazilian government plotted to retake or sink the rebelling warships, they were hampered by personnel distrust and equipment problems; historians have since cast doubt on their chances of successfully accomplishing either. At the same time, Congress—led by Rui Barbosa, a senator—pursued a route of amnesty, appointing a former navy captain as their liaison to the rebels. This latter route was successful, and a bill granting amnesty to all involved and ending the use of corporal punishment passed the lower house by a veto-proof margin. However, many of the sailors were quickly discharged from the navy, and after an unrelated second rebellion took place a few weeks later, many of the original mutineers were rounded up and thrown into jail or sent to work camps on the rubber plantations to the north.

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