Capoeira carioca
[4] By the late 19th century, capoeirista demographics in Rio had changed significantly, with the majority being free Creoles (blacks born in Brazil), mixed, and whites.
According to the law of the kingdom, the gravest of crimes was the practice of capoeiragem [...] Adão was innocent regarding the murder charge, but his status as a capoeira was confirmed.
[17] The African slave Bernardo Moçambique was arrested on March 14, 1815, for "playing capoeira, possessing a razor, and tying a red ribbon to a pole."
[18] On July 25, 1817, two capoeiristas, José Benguela and Joaquim Augusto, were arrested, with one in possession of a sharp knife (faca de ponta) and the other carrying a saber (estoque).
[19] In the same year, another African slave was arrested for playing capoeira and "wearing a white straw hat with a big yellow and red ribbon tied to its crown.
[24] Between 1822 and 1824 the German painter Johann Moritz Rugendas described capoeira game: Two contestants face each other, each trying to butt his adversary in the chest with his head and knock the opponent down.
However, exceptions were made for two major threats to the system: quilombolas and capoeiras, who were publicly whipped at pillars in Campo de Santana squares as a deterrent.
[29]On July 26, 1831, multiple capoeira groups, organized into the unit of more than 200 "blacks and mulattoes", attacked the municipal guard patrol, composed of men of status, targeting their chief.
[33] On March 3, 1842, the police commissioner wrote to the admiral that the sending of five capueristas to the navy may cause a great revolt: I send your Lordship the following men, and request that they be drafted for service in the navy: Feliciano Francisco, laborer; Inácio Viegas Tourinho, chicken peddler; Francisco Peçanha, chicken peddler; Emigídio Marcus, laborer; and Domingos Antônio Pereira, daily laborer—all black Minas—who live in a densely populated area.
[34]On May 14, 1847, the commander of the Campo de Santana quarter, saw four capoeiras came running, waving knives and chasing a black man who was fleeing and "whistling with all his might".
[12] In 1853, the police commissioner wrote to the minister of justice about the recent mass murder in the Santa Anna parish: It is interesting that the reason for these crimes is not revenge or robbery but the pleasure of seeing blood flow.
[2] On January 19, 1859, Minister of Justice stated that the capoeiras use the festival days for their "runs," commit crimes, and intentionally frighten peaceful citizens.
The caxinguelés [capoeira apprentices] flew at the front, capoeiragem exploded without restraints, and the mayhem resulted in broken heads, shattered light posts, stabbings and deaths.
[33] In 1859, the police commissioner requested the dismissal of the violent caporeista Felisberto do Amaral from the National Guard: The man is very dangerous and is known as the head of the capoeiras who meet in the Santa Rita neighborhood.
[48] Street battles among maltas were exceptionally brutal, marked by the use of all available weapons like clubs and knives, frequently resulting in a high number of casualties.
In 1872, the police commissioner revealed that capoeira groups, organized by neighborhoods with specific leaders, not only compete for control among themselves but also "kill and maim other innocent citizens".
[50] The major political incident occurred in February 1873, when capoeira gangs violently broke republican meeting, inspired by the declaration of a republic in Spain.
[53] In 1878, Moraes Filho wrote that the capoeiras form up in groups of 20 to 100 in front of troops and carnival processions, "provoking disorder, running, wounding".
[55] Immediately, the Brazilian Imperial regime formed the Black Guard (Guarda Negra), secret paramilitary organization composed of freed African slaves and capueristas.
The introduction states: This work was written by a high-ranking officer in the Brazilian army, an expert in weaponry, a military instructor, and an authority on defensive gymnastics, the genuine art of capoeira.
[69] In 1927, Mário Santos, in the introduction to his booklet, made the following appeal: It's high time that we freed ourselves from foreign sports and paid attention to what is ours... Brazilian gymnastics are equal in value to all the others... better than boxing that only uses the arms; better than Greco-Roman wrestling based only on strength.
[67]In the same year Brazilian writer and politician Coelho Neto published a book stressing the importance of teaching capoeira, considering it superior to other martial arts.
In the early 1930s Sinhozinho, a military officer and the fighting instructor of the feared Policia Especial under dictator Vargas, established his capoeira academies in Rio.
[69] During the 1930s and 1940s capoeira underwent a transformative phase in its history, as authorities and intellectuals worked to portray it as a product of Brazil's unique conditions, shaping it into a national sport.
[73] In 1859 French journalist Charles Ribeyrolls described the capoeira game on plantations in Rio de Janeiro province, "accompanied by the powerful, militant rhythm of the Congo drum".
[74] In the early nineteenth century, African slaves had limited clothing options, which denoted their social status, and they were prohibited from wearing shoes.
[78] Mello Moraes Filho was amazed with capoeira skills, attributing to them almost superhuman abilities: A capoeirista performing in front of his rival leaps, vaults, attacks, evades, hops, feints.
I saw a field officer who had been murdered in this manner and thrown over the wall into his garden, where his family found him in the morning: the upper part of the body had been flattened as if the implement of death had been a mallet.
[82] Primary among the capoeira blade techniques were the lamparina (oil lamp), a special straight razor attack to the victim's neck artery.
[85] Unlike many authors who see capoeira in 19th century Rio as a mere criminal activity, Desch-Obi believes it was a matter of honor for African slaves and their descendants.
