Positivism and evolutionism in Flávio de Barros’s photographs of the Canudos War

The Canudos War was a pivotal moment in the early years of the Brazilian republic. The events that culminated in the destruction of the settlement of Canudos left an indelible mark on the country’s history. Canudos’s prominence within Brazilian history can be partly explained by the fact that it is the subject of Euclides da Cunha’s Os sertões (1902), the first edition of which included three photographs taken by Flávio de Barros. De Barros’s photographs of Canudos have received less attention than Da Cunha’s book. This article explores the way in which De Barros’s images work as a visual accompaniment to Os sertões. They speak to the same positivist and evolutionist theories that were prominent at the time. While the photographs presented an official narrative of the conflict, they came to symbolize the cruelty of war and engendered sympathy for the inhabitants of Conselheiro’s settlement.