THE AUTHOR analyzes the political movement through which poor, black men manifested their discontent with the Portuguese monarchy and the proslavery society of Bahia in 1798. The regionalism of Bahia contributed to the exalted status of this movement, known then as Inconfidência Baiana [Insurrection of Bahia], which was more radical in advocating the independence of Brazil and more republican than the Inconfidência Mineira [Insurrection of Minas] because it embodied the yearnings of colonial Brazil's subordinate classes.