ABSTRACT
Between the 1880s and the 1940s, banditry was rife in the rural interior of the Brazilian North East, where for many the conditions of existence were desperately harsh. Thousands who struggled to make a living on the land suffered continual deprivation and exploitation as a result of the oppression of the landowning elite, the chronically unequal pattern of land ownership and the hardship caused by the droughts which frequently afflicted the region. For many of those affected, banditry offered a viable living and even an attractive way of life. By avenging social injustice and demonstrating that the poor and downtrodden could still exert power, the bandits, known as cangaceiros, became the heroes of many popular songs, poetry and woodcuts.
