THE “MADMEN’S REVOLT” OF 1920: AGENCY AND INSUBORDINATION AT THE NATIONAL HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE

Abstract

This study reconstructs the history of a patient revolt that took place on January 27, 1920, at the National Hospital for the Insane in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By analyzing contemporary newspapers, hospital and court records, and the diary of the author Lima Barreto-institutionalized at the time of the Revolt-we seek to understand the internal and external dynamics that led over 40 patients, mostly from the Lombroso Section (for the “criminally insane”), to march through the hospital, set fire to mattresses, and call for the death of the hospital director. Furthermore, despite the ostensible failure of the Revolt, we highlight the experiences of different protagonists (including the Revolt’s apparent leader, Roberto Duque Estrada Godfroy), as well as the testimony of Lima Barreto, as a means of understanding patients’ experiences and strategies of insubordination within the institution.

Keywords: Psychiatry; Madness; Asylum; Legal medicine; Brazil