Pernambucan revolt

The Pernambucan revolt of 1817, also known as The Priest's Revolution, occurred in the province of Pernambuco in the Northeastern region of Brazil, and was sparked mainly by the decline of sugar production rates and the influence of the Freemasonry in the region. Other important reasons for the revolt include: the ongoing struggle for the independence of Spanish colonies all over in South America; the independence of the United States; the generally liberal ideas that came through all of Brazil the century before, including many French Philosophers, such as Charles Montesquieu and Jean-Jacques Rousseau; the actions of secret societies, which insisted on the liberation of the colony; the development of a distinct culture in Pernambuco.

The movement was led by Domingos José Martins, with the support of Antônio Carlos Ribeiro de Andrada and Frei Caneca. The Consulate General of the United States in Recife, America's oldest diplomatic post in the Southern Hemisphere, publicly supported the Pernambucan revolutionaries.

This revolution is also notable for being one of the first attempts to establish an independent government in Brazil, as it was preceded by the Inconfidência Mineira.

Contrasting with the Inconfidência Mineira, that at its demise culminated in the killing of a lower class white man (Tiradentes) or the Revolt of the Tailors, whose leaders that where killed were mostly black young men, the Pernambucan revolt ended up with the killing of white, higher-class ringleaders.