The precarious nature of the economic conditions in the region resulted in several conflicts, including many strikes, conflicts and insurrections, such as the June 1872 event, that came to be known as the ""A Pavorosa"". Later, the "Empresa Industrial Portuguesa", the largest and most modern metallurgical business until the 1920s, operated in Alcântara, which also created dissent and conflict. On various occasions, in 1886, in 1894 and most importantly in 1903 there were strikes, protests and conflicts between the workers and the residents of the region. The 1903 strike began on 7 December to protest the imposition of a foreign director. On 17 December the strikers, numbering hundreds, fought the police in Santo Amaro.