He led Brazil’s Black sailors in mutiny to resist abuse. A hundred years later he may get justice

João Cândido Felisberto, centre at left of man in suit, stands among other sailors on the deck of a Brazilian warship in 1910. Photograph: Photo 12/Alamy

He was a Black Brazilian sailor who led an unprecedented mutiny against abuse by white officers, and helped end flogging in the country’s navy – only to be imprisoned, persecuted and die in poverty.

For five days in 1910, João Cândido Felisberto held Rio de Janeiro hostage under the guns of the Brazilian fleet, in an uprising known as the Revolt of the Lash.