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Felipa Maria Aranha (c.1720 – c.1780) was a rebel leader as the Leader of the Mola ''
It is thought that Aranha was born in the Costa da Mina (Gold Coast) region of what is now
«Slavery, Fugue and the Memory of quilombos in the Tocantins Region»
Electronic Journals of PUC-SP. Retrieved on March 25, 2016 She was probably born between the years 1720 and 1730. She would have been enslaved as a child, around 1740. It is likely she was sold as a slave in the square of Santa Maria de Belém do Grão in
Exposicao Heroinas com Moldura
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quilombo
A ''quilombo'' (; from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were maroons, a term for e ...
''-community in Brazil. She was enslaved in Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
as a child, who escaped slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and became the leader of the Mola ''quilombo
A ''quilombo'' (; from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were maroons, a term for e ...
'' in Pará
Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...
, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Her leadership enabled the community to resist the incursions of slave-owners and Portuguese troops. She is remembered by the remaining ''quilombolas
A ''quilombola'' () is an Afro-Brazilian resident of ''quilombo'' settlements first established by escaped slaves in Brazil. They are the descendants of Afro-Brazilian slaves who escaped from slave plantations that existed in Brazil until ab ...
'' and the Brazilian black community as an inspirational figure in their history.
Biography
It is thought that Aranha was born in the Costa da Mina (Gold Coast) region of what is now Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
.PINTO, Benedita Celeste de Moraes«Slavery, Fugue and the Memory of quilombos in the Tocantins Region»
Electronic Journals of PUC-SP. Retrieved on March 25, 2016 She was probably born between the years 1720 and 1730. She would have been enslaved as a child, around 1740. It is likely she was sold as a slave in the square of Santa Maria de Belém do Grão in
Pará
Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...
; the identity of the who purchased her is unknown. Aranha was sent to Cametá
Cametá is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pará
Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas ...
, where she was forced to work as a slave on a sugarcane plantation. It is not known how she managed to escape, however, with hundreds of others, she managed to form one of the largest and best structured quilombos in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
at Mola, a site at the headwaters of the Itapocu River.
The Mola quilombo consisted of approximately 300 formerly enslaved people and had a high degree of political, social and military organization. Aranha was the first leader of the community. The group was also led by Maria Luiza Piriá. It was organised as a republic, with democratic voting in place. Over the course of the Mola quilombo's life, it expanded to include four other similar settlements in the region and was known as the Confederação do Itapocu''.'' In 1895 there were still traces of the settlement to be seen; they have now disappeared.
Historiography
Historians, such as Benedita Pinto and Flávio Gomes, interpret the organisation of the group as an ideal model of resistance to slavery. Aranha herself is seen as an inspirational leader and is increasingly viewed as a feminist role model.Legacy
In 2017 the poet Jarid Arraes ( pt) published an eight-page work about her life. In 2020 a virtual exhibition entitled ''Exposicao Heroinas com Moldura'' was hosted in Brazil to honour of the International Day of Latin American and Caribbean Black women; it featured the life of Aranha.Exposicao Heroinas com Moldura
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References