“Povo que foge e mostra prezentemente grande aversão à vida militar” : a deserção nas tropas regulares da Capitania de Pernambuco (1774-1808)

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is analyse the reasons which encouraged the desertion of soldiers in the regular troops of Pernambuco Captainship in between 1774-1808. The difficulties from the recruits’ evasion reverberate on the documents which were exchanged among colonial administrators, in which the information show the concerns towards the escape of soldiers. Published notices in the Captainship aimed to threaten the ones who disobeyed that conduct, predicting since the prison of family members until the fugitive’s death, in order to decrease the massive desertions in the army. We analyse Pernambuco governors’ reports, especially letters and missives which were sent to the ultramarine advisors, aiming to clarify the ways by which they tried to explain the escapes, besides understanding the numerous alternatives used to hinder their spread. We have focused essentially on the military maps which had been built since the second half of the 18th century, in which the cases of prisoners sentenced for desertion were pointed out and contain important data for the research, such as the penalties and pardons given to the fugitives. The observation of strategies to establish ways of surviving in the society was based on the analyses of three inquiries, which offer clues and possibilities of those men’s social insertion in the villages and colonial cities. Therefore, we seek to contribute for the understanding of one of the main difficulties that bothered the regular troops during the colonial period as a result of the aversion to the military service and the resistance promoted to the activities in the army.