During the War of the Farrapos, the
Imperial Army called thousands of
Brazilians to fight against the Rio
Grande republicans. The ten years of
conflict brought soldiers from different
regions of Brazil together in one place,
and reciprocal social interaction led to
the construction of otherness
relationships. A broad spectrum of
accents, experiences and references
came together, making the diversity of
Brazilians from different regions visible.
This diversity stimulated the
demarcation of different and shared
means of identification, among which
we highlight diet and diseases, which
served as signs to identify/differentiate
the origins of the troops. These
questions are analyzed based on
handwritten documentation produced
daily by Army administrators.
