Balaiada

The Balaiada was a social revolt between 1838 and 1841 in the interior of the Province of Maranhão, Brazil.

==Background== During the imperial period, the Maranhão region, which exported cotton, suffered a severe economic crisis because of competition with the increasingly-productive United States. In addition, the cattle industry consumed a large part of the workforce in the region. Those factors explain the involvement of the slaves and the poorly-paid free workers in the movement.