Cangaço

This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hard way of life, and in a form of "social banditry" against the government, many men and women decided to become nomadic bandits, roaming the hinterlands seeking money, food, and revenge.

By 1834, the term cangaceiro was already used to refer to bands of poor peasants who inhabited the northeastern deserts, wearing leather clothing and hats, carrying carbines, revolvers, shotguns, and the long narrow knife known as the peixeira [pt].

By the mid-19th century in that region, there were two main groups of loosely organized armed outlaws: the jagunços, mercenaries who worked for whoever paid their price, usually land-owners who wanted to protect or expand their territorial limits and also deal with farm workers; and the cangaceiros, "social bandits", who had some level of support from the poorest population.

The bandits often behaved well to the poorer sections of society, performing acts of charity, buying goods for higher than usual prices from small shopkeepers and giving free parties ("bailes").

A massive offensive led to bloodshed, and eleven members of the band were killed: Lampião, Maria Bonita, Luís Pedro, Mergulhão, Enedina, Elétrico, Quinta-Feira, Moeda, Alecrim, Colchete and Macela.

The volantes were a small and special band of troops—around twenty to sixty—from every state of the Brazilian federation, formed by the government law-enforcement agencies sent to seek and destroy the cangaceiros.

However, the name seems to be actually a derivation of the Latin expression para bellum, which means "prepare for war" and was used to refer to the then official sidearm used by the Brazilian governmental troops and by some of the law enforcement soldiers, the Luger pistol, which was produced by the German arms maker DWM.