Agreste at war: a historical study on Itapicuru in the context of Bahia's participation in Brazil's independence (1822-1823)

Abstract

In the year of the bicentenary of Bahia's participation in Brazil's war of independence, many historiographical productions highlighted new problematizations that enrich the discussion of the proposed theme and change the focus of classical historiography, based on the military scope of rivalries between the troops of the Portuguese armies, allocated in the Bahian capital, in opposition to the peacekeeping army, whose base of operations was in Recôncavo. Based on this perspective, this article aims to discuss how Itapicuru, one of the oldest villages in Bahia and representative of the Agreste region, managed to bring together neighboring localities to support and reinforce the battles for the consolidation of Brazil's independence. The results of this research, supported by Social History with a regional bias, show that other spaces and social subjects in the extensive Bahian territory were significant and strategic in terms of reinforcing the battles that legitimized the 2nd of July.