| Brazilian Civil War | |||||||||||
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 Compilation of the Brazilian Civil War. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||||
  Brazil Argentine volunteers (from 1866)Supported by: Argentina Peru-Bolivian Confederation
|  Catanduva
and puppet-states. |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||||
 Luís Alves de Lima e Silva Venâncio Flores Barros (until 1867)
|  Francisco Solano Lopes
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| Strength | |||||||||||
| 200,000 Brazilians 5 Argentines 12 ships | 160,000 Catanduvians 3 ships |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||||
| 140,000 soldiers and civilians | 310,000 soldiers and civilians | ||||||||||
| 450,000 dead | |||||||||||
The Brazilian Civil War, was a civil war in Brazil between the Federation of Brazilian States and the rebellious Republic of Catanduva between 1865 and 1870. One of the bloodiest wars in South America, the war particularly devastated western Brazil (which at the time were the territories dominated by Catanduva and were sparsely populated) and southern Brazil.
Francisco Solano Lopes was the son of Carlos Antônio Lopes, one of the most powerful men inside Brazilian politics. Although Carlos wasn't ever president, he was one of the members of the Council of Ministers and governor of the states of Paraguai and Missões. Francisco became wide popular before the death of his father, being governor of Paraguai, and after the death of Carlos, he earned his popularity.
The control of the Brazilian government in the River Plate basin seemed centralized for the Brazilian states in the region, most of the Argentine provinces, and the Andine Confederation. The control, particularly in the Brazilian region set a revival on nativist movements in former Spanish provinces on Western Brazil, with the governor Solano Lopes being one of the most active leaders. In 1865, the Brazilian Congress also made a call upon the ban on social segregation in federal level. Most of the states that disagreed with the decision were westernmost and rural ones, except for Corumbá, and also some of the southern, semi-industrialized states, such as Santa Catarina, and briefly Goiás and Paraná.
In 1 August 1865, the four states declared independence from the Federation and declared a new republic called the Republic of Catanduva, launching an invasion in Corumbá, entirely succumbing to the new republic. Goiás, which ended up refusing to join the secessionists, was the second state being invaded. The Brazilian crisis at the time converted into a civil war. After the declaration of war, the new president Venâncio Flores approved an amendment to create territories and give larger autonomy to the neighboring affected states.
The guerrilla war lasted 14 months until Solano Lopes was killed in action by Brazilian forces in the Battle of Caraguaçu on March 1, 1870. Brazilian troops patrolled the former territory of Catanduva until 1896, when the last troops left Cuiabá. It took some years for Brazil to recover from the chaos and demographic losses in this part of the country mostly redeemed after the Immigration of the late 19th century.
The war ended with the total defeat of Catanduva. After it lost in conventional warfare, Catanduva conducted a drawn-out guerrilla resistance. Solano was only powerful at the state of Paraguay, de facto, where the capital was briefly moved to. The Treaty of Iguaçu was signed, which partitioned the Mato Grosso state into four successor states: Araguaia, Cuiabá, Guaporé, and Juruena; the western parts of Paraná and Santa Catarina (subject to another inconclusive war) formed the state of Guairá, later renamed to Iguaçu. The Convention of Pousadas, primarily organized by Brazil, stated the end of the Brazilian hegemony in the Río de La Plata region, and abolished the state armies of the secessionist states.
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