1897 in Brazil

Events in the year 1897 in Brazil.

Federal government

 * President: Prudente de Morais
 * Vice-President: Manuel Vitorino

Governors

 * Alagoas: Jose Vieira Peixoto (until June 12), Manuel Jose Duarte (starting June 12)
 * Amazonas: Fileto Pires Ferreira
 * Bahia: Luís Viana
 * Ceará: Antônio Nogueira Accioli
 * Goiás: Francisco Leopoldo Rodrigues Jardim
 * Maranhão:
 * until March 26: Casimiro Vieira Jr
 * from March 26: Alfredo Martins
 * Mato Grosso: Manuel José Murtinho
 * Minas Gerais: Bias Fortes
 * Pará:
 * until February 1: Lauro Sodré
 * from February 1: Pais de Carvalho
 * Paraíba: Antônio Alfredo Mello
 * Paraná: Santos Andrade
 * Pernambuco: Joaquim Correia de Araújo
 * Piauí: Raimundo Artur de Vasconcelos
 * Rio Grande do Norte: Joaquim Ferreira Chaves
 * Rio Grande do Sul: Júlio Prates de Castilhos
 * Santa Catarina:
 * São Paulo:
 * Sergipe:

Vice governors

 * Rio de Janeiro:
 * Rio Grande do Norte:
 * São Paulo:

Events

 * 6 January – An expeditionary force, consisting of 557 soldiers and officers under the command of Major Febrônio de Brito, who attacks the well-defended village of Canudos.  The troops are eventually forced to retreat when confronted with more than 4,000 insurrectionists.
 * 7 August – Euclides da Cunha goes to the Sertão ("backland"), as war correspondent for O Estado de S. Paulo.
 * 2 October – the War of Canudos comes to a brutal end, when a large Brazilian army force overruns the village and kills nearly all the inhabitants.
 * 12 October – The city of Belo Horizonte is created and its construction is completely successfully.

Births

 * 6 February – Alberto Cavalcanti, film director and producer (died 1982)
 * 30 April – Humberto Mauro, film director (died 1983)
 * 7 June – Lampião, bandit (died 1938)
 * 20 September – Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, politician (died 1967)
 * 4 November – Oscar Lorenzo Fernández, composer (died 1948)

Deaths

 * 1 January – Adolfo Caminha, Naturalist novelist (born 1867; tuberculosis)
 * 4 March – Antônio Moreira César, army colonel, killed in action
 * 22 September – Antônio Conselheiro, religious leader, preacher, and founder of the village of Canudos (born 1830; dysentery)
 * 13 November – Francisco de Paula Ney, poet and journalist (born 1858)