Gomes had passed through the village of Manga in Maranhão while taking an oxcart to sell items in another municipality.
The vice-mayor of the village, José Egito, a conservative (or cabano) and political adversary of Padre Mendes, sent an order to recruit some men to accompany Gomes and to imprison his brother on 13 December 1838.
[2] These actions would eventually lead to the creation of the Balaiada uprising throughout the Northeast of Brazil, as both Cosme Bento (a formerly enslaved man and a quilombo leader) and Manuel Francisco dos Anjos Ferreira (or Manuel Balaio, a local basketweaver) joined him and galvanized various groups in Maranhão and beyond.
[4] After Manuel Balaio's death during the rebellion and Gomes' men were defeated by Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, the future Duke of Caxias, Cosme Bento assumed leadership of the movement.
[5][6] 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.