Captains of the Sands (Portuguese: Capitães da Areia) is a Brazilian Modernist novel written by Jorge Amado in 1937. The novel tells of a gang of one hundred orphans and abandoned children. They are seven to fifteen years old and live by begging, gambling and stealing, abandoned in the streets of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The lead character is Pedro Bala, the leader of the gang, and other important characters include the "Professor (Teacher)", Boa-Vida ("Good Life"), "Barandão", João Grande (Big John) and Sem-Pernas (Legless). Critics have tended to dismiss Amado’s earlier works, such as Captains of the Sands, as being political polemic rather than novels and for incorporating popular culture, such as Candomblé. In response, Amado said that he set out to tell a story to be enjoyed by all, n