On 31 October 1874, a marketplace in
Fagundes, Paraíba was disturbed by the shouts of a group of people protesting the imposition of market taxes, requiring them to pay 200 reis for every quantity of purchased goods touching the ground. The protestors banished a local tax collector from the market, tearing down lists of municipal taxes. The peasants then pursued to destroy scales and measurements representing the metric system, as their use was also subject to taxation. Fagundese citizens and their supporters from the neighboring areas continued to resist taxation organising riots on 7 and 14 November, the intervention of the district judge and vicar failed to bring any results. On 21 November, a band of 800 armed men attacked the town of
Ingá, burning the archives of the town's council and destroying all records related to taxation, later forcing a police commander to sign a declaration cancelling all the new taxes. Unrest spread through the region affecting the towns of
Campina Grande, Alagoa Grande, Alagôia Nova, Arara, Areia, Bananeiras, Espalhada and Independencia among others. On the same day the towns of
Timbaúba and
Itambé,
Pernambuco were targeted by the rebels, prompting provincial president Lucena to send a force of 40 regular troops to the destroyed towns on 27 November. The troops under the command of Pedro de Alcantara Tiberia Capistrano, reached Itambé three days later but were ordered to remain inactive by the district judge. On 7 December, the troops patrolled the Itambé market, enabling officials to collect taxes. The deployment of soldiers proved insufficient, as riots resumed the following week engulfing Angelica, Alliança, Caruarú and Vicencia. A 400-man mob left Caruarú, marching to Bezerros and Bonita on 12 December and intimidating the local authorities. Provincial president Lucena then reacted by dispatching a second force consisting of 40 national guardsmen and 20 regular troops. On 19 December, the rebels encountered the soldiers while raiding the house of the Bonita taxman. The two sides clashed, leaving one rebel and two soldiers dead and over three people wounded. News of the confrontation reached a nearby prison, with 10 prison guards and 4 soldiers reaching the destroyed house and repelling the mob. Rumors of a new tax to be imposed on combing one's hair led to the spread of the riots to the
province of Alagoas, mobs broke scales, burned taxation and army recruitment documents, while ridiculing the police. Loyalist militias were summoned in several locations disrupting the riots. The last major violent incident within the borders of Pernambuco took place on 25 December, when 500 rebels raided the house of a judge in Villa Bella, failing however to find any documents. On 3 January 1875, a group of merchants from Quebrangulo,
Rio Grande do Norte unsuccessfully resisted the rebels who in turn killed 10 and injured many more of the traders. ==See also==