This article examines the mobilization of black regiments in Bahia (and Pernambuco) during the 1864-70 war with Paraguay. These racially-segregated companies shared many overall similarities to other military units but they also drew on the legacy of the colonial black militia and their members' patriotic service in the struggle for independence in Bahia. Many black soldiers and officers distinguished themselves in battle in 1866, but the Brazilian government and army were reluctant to accept the racial identity implied in these units, and they were all abolished by the end of the year. In addition to correcting the many misconceptions about the Zuavos that commonly appear in academic writing as well as more general literary genres, this article reflects on the complex racial politics of imperial Brazilian society and the black vision of service to the state (and of citizenship) as closely connected to military service.
Paraguayan war; Bahian Zuavos; racial politics; military recruitment