His nickname came from the balaios that he would sell in places like his hometown of Coroatá and in Itapecuru Mirim.
[1] It is unknown what led him to take arms; it has been said that it was vengeance due to a soldier raping his daughter, while others posit that it was to avoid his children being recruited by force.
Together with the dire living conditions in the state, while also being forced to serve in the military, they rebelled in 1838 against the conservative elite, represented by large-scale property owners and military personnel.
[2] After Manuel Balaio's death during the rebellion and when co-leader Raimundo Gomes' men were defeated by Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, the future Duke of Caxias, Cosme Bento (a formerly enslaved man and a quilombo leader who was one of the other main leaders of the "balaios") assumed leadership of the movement.
[3][4] The strength of the "balaios" began to diminish as, in 1840, a large number of the rebels surrendered due to a concession deal being made.