Palmares, or Quilombo dos Palmares, was a ''
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 es ...
'', a community of
escaped slaves and others, in
colonial Brazil
Colonial Brazil ( pt, Brasil Colonial) comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Durin ...
that developed from 1605 until its suppression in 1694. It was located in the
captaincy of
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...
, in what is today the Brazilian state of
Alagoas
Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. It ...
. The quilombo was located in what is now the municipality of
União dos Palmares
União dos Palmares is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Alagoas. Its population was 65,790 (2020) and its area is 428 km². Surrounding agricultural land is largely dedicated to sugar cane and cattle. At one time, when the ci ...
.
Background
The modern tradition has been to call the community the ''Quilombo of Palmares''. ''
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 es ...
s'' were settlements mainly of survivors and free-born enslaved
African people
The population of Africa has grown rapidly over the past century and consequently shows a large youth bulge, further reinforced by a low life expectancy of below 50 years in some African countries. Total population as of 2020 is estimated at ...
. The ''quilombos'' came into existence when Africans began arriving in Brazil in the mid-1530s and grew significantly as slavery expanded.
No contemporary document called Palmares a ''quilombo''; instead the term ''
mocambo'' was used. Palmares was home to not only escaped enslaved Africans, but also to
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
,
caboclo
A caboclo () is a person of mixed Indigenous Brazilian and European ancestry, or, less commonly, a culturally assimilated or detribalized person of full Amerindian descent. In Brazil, a ''caboclo'' generally refers to this specific type of '' ...
s, and poor or marginalized Portuguese settlers, especially Portuguese soldiers trying to escape forced military service.
Overview
One estimate places the population of Palmares in the 1690s at around 20,000 inhabitants, although recent scholarship has questioned whether this figure is exaggerated.
Stuart Schwartz places the number at roughly 11,000, noting that it was, regardless, "undoubtedly the largest fugitive community to have existed in Brazil".
These inhabitants developed a society and government that derived from a range of
Central Africa
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...
n sociopolitical models, a reflection of the diverse ethnic origins of its inhabitants, although Schwartz emphasizes that the residents of Palmares "combined these
ociopolitical modelswith aspects of European culture and specifically local adaptations."
This government was confederate in nature, and was led by an elected chief who allocated landholdings, appointed officials (usually family members), and resided in a type of fortification called
Macoco. Six Portuguese expeditions tried to conquer Palmares between 1680 and 1686, but failed. Finally the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of the
captaincy of
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...
, Pedro Almeida, organized an army under the leadership of the
Bandeirantes
The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 1494 ...
Domingos Jorge Velho
Domingos Jorge Velho (1641–1705) was one of the fiercest and most effective bandeirantes. He was born in Santana de Parnaíba, captaincy of São Paulo, to Francisco Jorge Velho and Francisca Gonçalves de Camargo. He was responsible for ...
and
Bernardo Vieira de Melo and defeated a palmarista force, putting an end to the republic in 1694.
Formative period (1620–53)
Palmares was the general name given by the Portuguese in Pernambuco and
Alagoas
Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. It ...
to the
interior districts beyond the settlements on the coast, especially the mountain ranges, because there were many
palm trees
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm ( ...
there. As early as 1602, Portuguese settlers complained to the government that their captives were running away into this inaccessible region and building ''mocambos'', or small communities. However, the Portuguese were unable to dislodge these communities, which were probably small and scattered, and so expeditions continued periodically into the interior.
During this time the vast majority of the enslaved Africans who were brought to Pernambuco were from
Portuguese Angola
Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa).
I ...
, perhaps as many as 90%, and therefore it is no surprise that tradition, reported as early as 1671 related that its first founders were Angolan. This large number was primarily because the Portuguese used the colony of Angola as a major raiding base, and there was a close relationship between the holders of
the contract of Angola, the
governors of Angola, and the governors of Pernambuco.
In 1630 the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...
sent a fleet to conquer Pernambuco, in the context of the
Dutch-Portuguese War, during the period of the
Iberian Union
pt, União Ibérica
, conventional_long_name =Iberian Union
, common_name =
, year_start = 1580
, date_start = 25 August
, life_span = 1580–1640
, event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession
, event_end = Portuguese Restoration War
, ...
. Although they captured and held the city of
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
, they were unable (and generally unwilling) to conquer the rest of the province. As a result, there was a constant low-intensity war between Dutch and Portuguese settlers. During this time thousands of enslaved people escaped and went to the Palmares.
Although initially the Dutch considered making an alliance with Palmares against the Portuguese, peace agreements put them in the position of supporting the
sugar plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
economy of Pernambuco. Consequently, the Dutch leader
John Maurice of Nassau
John Maurice of Nassau (Dutch: ''Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen''; German: ''Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen''; Portuguese: ''João Maurício de Nassau-Siegen''; 17 June 1604 – 20 December 1679), called "the Brazilian" for his fruitful period a ...
decided to send expeditions against Palmares. These expeditions also collected intelligence about them, and it is from these accounts that we learn about the organization of Palmares in their time.
By the 1640s, many of the mocambos had consolidated into larger entities ruled by kings. Dutch descriptions by
Caspar Barlaeus (published 1647) and
Johan Nieuhof
Johan Nieuhof (22 July 1618 in Uelsen – 8 October 1672 in Madagascar) was a Dutch traveler who wrote about his journeys to Brazil, China and India. The most famous of these was a trip of from Canton to Peking in 1655-1657, which enabled hi ...
(published 1682) spoke of two larger consolidated entities, "Great Palmares" and "Little Palmares". In each of these units there was a large central town that was fortified and held 5,000-6,000 people. The surrounding hills and valleys were filled with many more mocambos of 50 to 100 people. A description of the visit of Johan Blaer to one of the larger mocambos in 1645 (which had been abandoned) revealed that there were 220 buildings in the community, a church, four
smithies, and a council house. Churches were common in Palmares partly because Angolans were frequently
Christianized
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
, either from the Portuguese colony or from the
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo ( kg, Kongo dya Ntotila or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' pt, Reino do Congo) was a kingdom located in central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the ...
, which was a Christianized country at that time. Others had been converted to Christianity while enslaved. According to the Dutch, they used a local person who knew something of the church as a priest, though they did not think he practiced the religion in its usual form. Schwartz notes that African religious practices were also preserved and suggests that the depiction of Palmares as a largely Christian settlement is perhaps reflective of confusion or bias on the part of contemporary commentators.
From Palmares to Angola Janga
After 1654 the Dutch were expelled, and the Portuguese began organizing expeditions against the mocambos of Palmares. In the post-
Iberian Union
pt, União Ibérica
, conventional_long_name =Iberian Union
, common_name =
, year_start = 1580
, date_start = 25 August
, life_span = 1580–1640
, event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession
, event_end = Portuguese Restoration War
, ...
period (after 1640), the kingdoms of Palmares grew and became even more consolidated. Two descriptions, one an anonymous account called "Relação das Guerras de Palmares" (1678) (Account of the war of Palmares), the other written by Manuel Injosa (1677), describe a large consolidated entity with nine major settlements and many smaller ones. Slightly later accounts tell us that the kingdom was named "Angola Janga" which according to the Portuguese meant "Little Angola," although this is not a direct translation from a
Kimbundu term as one might expect. The two texts agree that it was ruled by a king, which the "Relação das Guerras" named "
Ganga Zumba
Nganga Nzumbi () was the first leader of the massive runaway slave settlement of Quilombo dos Palmares, or Angola Janga, in the present-day state of Alagoas, Brazil. Zumba was enslaved and escaped bondage on a sugar plantation and eventually ro ...
" and that members of his family ruled other settlements, suggesting an incipient
royal family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...
. He also had officials and judges as well as a more or less standing army.
Although the "Guerra de Palmares" consistently calls the king Ganga Zumba, and translates his name as "Great Lord" other documents, including a letter addressed to the king written in 1678 refer to him as "Ganazumba" (which is consistent with a Kimbundu term ''ngana'' meaning "lord"). One other official, Gana Zona also had this element in his name.
![Zumbidospalmares](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Zumbidospalmares.jpg)
After a particularly devastating attack by the captain in 1676-7 that wounded Zumba and led to the capture of some of his children and grandchildren, Ganga Zumba sent a letter to the Governor of Pernambuco asking for peace. The governor responded by agreeing to pardon Ganga Zumba and all his followers, on condition that they move to a position closer to the Portuguese settlements and return all enslaved Africans that had not been born in Palmares. Although Ganga Zumba agreed to the terms, one of his more powerful leaders,
Zumbi
Zumbi (1655 – November 20, 1695), also known as Zumbi dos Palmares (), was a Brazilian quilombola leader, being one of the pioneers of resistance to slavery of Africans by the Portuguese in colonial Brazil. He was also the last of the kings ...
refused to accept the terms. According to a deposition made in 1692 by a Portuguese priest, Zumbi was born in Palmares in 1655, but was captured by Portuguese forces in a raid while still an infant. He was raised by the priest, and taught to read and write
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. At the age of 15, however, Zumbi escaped and returned to Palmares. There he quickly won a reputation for military skill and bravery and was promoted to the leader of a large mocambo.
In a short time, Zumbi had organized a rebellion against Ganga Zumba, who was styled as his uncle, and poisoned him (though this is not proven, and many believe Zumba poisoned himself as a warning not to trust the Portuguese). It is argued that Zumba was sick of fighting, but even more wary of signing the deal with the Portuguese, foreseeing their betrayal, and renewed war. By 1679 the Portuguese were again sending military expeditions against Zumbi. Meanwhile, the
sugar planters reneged on the agreement and re-enslaved many of Ganga Zumba's followers who had moved closer to the coast.
From 1680 to 1694, the Portuguese and Zumbi, now the new king of Angola Janga, waged an almost constant war. The Portuguese government finally brought in the famed Portuguese military commanders
Domingos Jorge Velho
Domingos Jorge Velho (1641–1705) was one of the fiercest and most effective bandeirantes. He was born in Santana de Parnaíba, captaincy of São Paulo, to Francisco Jorge Velho and Francisca Gonçalves de Camargo. He was responsible for ...
and
Bernardo Vieira de Melo, who had made their reputation fighting
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
peoples in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
and then in the
São Francisco valley. These men enlisted existing Pernambuco forces and local indigenous allies, who proved instrumental in the campaign. The final assault against Palmares occurred in January 1694.
Cerca do Macaco
Cerca do Macaco, also called "Cerca Real dos Macacos" or just "Macaco", was a historical settlement located on the peak of the Serra da Barriga in the state of Alagoas, Brazil. It was the main settlement of the Palmares, an established group o ...
, the main settlement, fell; accounts suggest a bitter fight that saw 200 inhabitants of Palmares kill themselves rather than surrender and face re-enslavement.
Zumbi was wounded. He eluded the Portuguese, but was betrayed, finally captured, and beheaded on November 20, 1695.
Zumbi's brother continued the resistance, but Palmares was ultimately destroyed, and Velho and his followers were given
land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
s in the territory of Angola Janga, which they occupied as a means of keeping the kingdom from being reconstituted. Palmares had been destroyed by a large army of Indians under the command of white and
caboclo
A caboclo () is a person of mixed Indigenous Brazilian and European ancestry, or, less commonly, a culturally assimilated or detribalized person of full Amerindian descent. In Brazil, a ''caboclo'' generally refers to this specific type of '' ...
(white/Indian mixed-bloods) captains-of-war.
Although the kingdom was destroyed the Palmares region continued to host many smaller runaway settlements, but there was no longer the centralized state in the mountains.
Fighting techniques
![Rugendasroda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Rugendasroda.jpg)
Although it is often argued that the inhabitants of Palmares defended themselves using the martial art form called
capoeira
Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...
, there is no documentary evidence that the residents of Palmares actually used this method of fighting, which historian Thomas Desh-Obi has connected with the
Benguela
Benguela (; Umbundu: Luombaka) is a city in western Angola, capital of Benguela Province. Benguela is one of Angola's most populous cities with a population of 555,124 in the city and 561,775 in the municipality, at the 2014 census.
History
Por ...
Highlands region of Angola. Most accounts describe them as armed with spears, bows, arrows and guns. They were able to acquire guns by trading with the Portuguese and by allowing small-holding cattle raisers to use their land. Guerrilla warfare was common; the inhabitants of Palmares, familiar with the terrain, marshaled camouflage and surprise attacks to their advantage. Fortifications of the Palmares encampments themselves included fences, walls, and traps.
Historiography
In his article "Rethinking Palmares: Slave Resistance in Colonial Brazil," Schwartz challenges somewhat the historiographical conception of Palmares as a straightforward transposition of Angolan culture and sociopolitical structures, writing, "Much of what passed for African 'ethnicity' in Brazil were colonial creations. Categories or groupings such as 'Congo' or 'Angola' had no ethnic content in themselves and often combined peoples drawn from broad areas of African who before enslavement had shared little sense of relationship or identity." Instead, he characterizes Palmares as a hybrid society combining traditions of various African groups. He traces the etymology of the word quilombo to the ki-lombo, a circumcision camp common among the Mbundu people of Angola that served to forge cultural unity among disparate local ethnic groups, and argues that this practice might have informed the diversity of Palmares. He also notes class stratification within the quilombo; those kidnapped in raids were often enslaved by the people of Palmares. He further highlights an economic interdependence between the inhabitants of Palmares and white Portuguese living nearby, manifested in the regular exchange of goods.
Historian Alida C. Metcalf cites recent archeological discoveries at the site of Palmares that "reveal extensive Indian influence" to argue for an "image of the community as one formed by both Indians and Africans seeking freedom."
In movies
A semi-fictional account of Palmares was made into the 1984 Brazilian film by
Carlos Diegues
Carlos Diegues, also known as Cacá Diegues (born May 19, 1940), is a Brazilian film director. He was born in Maceió, Alagoas, and is best known as a member of the Cinema Novo
Cinema Novo (), "New Cinema" in English, is a genre and movement o ...
, ''
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 es ...
''.
See also
*
List of topics related to Black and African people
This is a list of topics related to the African diaspora.
Overview
* Black people
* African diaspora
Black diasporans by region
Americas
North America
* Afro-Guatemalan
* Afro-Honduran
* Belizean Kriol people
* Cimarron people (Panama), Cima ...
*
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
*
Creole
*
Cafuzo
*
Capoeira
Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...
*
Dandara
Dandara (full name in Portuguese: ''Dandara dos Palmares'') was an Afro-Brazilian warrior of the colonial period of Brazil and was part of the Quilombo dos Palmares, a settlement of Afro-Brazilian people who freed themselves from enslavement, ...
, female warrior and wife of Zumbi,
*
Garifuna people
The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian ...
*
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 es ...
*
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 ...
*
Triangular trade
Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset t ...
*
Zambo
Zambo ( or ) or Sambu is a racial term historically used in the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed Indigenous and African ancestry. Occasionally in the 21st century, the term is used in the Americas to refer to persons who are of mixe ...
*
Zumbi
Zumbi (1655 – November 20, 1695), also known as Zumbi dos Palmares (), was a Brazilian quilombola leader, being one of the pioneers of resistance to slavery of Africans by the Portuguese in colonial Brazil. He was also the last of the kings ...
*
Brazilians
Brazilians ( pt, Brasileiros, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, which me ...
*
History of Portugal
The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis.
The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BC lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provinc ...
Notes
Bibliography
* Pita, Sebastião da Rocha, ''História da América Portuguesa'', Ed. Itatiaia, 1976.
* Edison Carneiro,''O Quilombo dos Palmares'' (São Paulo, 1947, only edition with documentary appendix, and three subsequent editions).
* Décio Freitas, ''Palmares: Guerra dos escravos'' (Rio de Janeiro, 1973 and five subsequent editions).
* R. Kent, "Palmares: An African State in Brazil," ''
Journal of African History
''The Journal of African History'' (JAH) is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal. It was established in 1960 and is published by Cambridge University Press. It was among the first specialist journals to be devoted to African history and ar ...
''.
* R. Anderson, "The Quilombo of Palmares: A New Overview of a Maroon State in Seventeenth-Century Brazil," ''
Journal of Latin American Studies
The ''Journal of Latin American Studies'', established in 1969, is a Peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press. The Institute of Latin American Studies of the University of London houses the journal's edit ...
'' 28, no. 3 (October 1996): 545–566.
* Irene Diggs: "Zumbi and the Republic of Os Palmares". ''
Phylon
''Phylon'' (subtitle: ''the Clark Atlanta University Review of Race and Culture'') is a semi-annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering culture in the United States from an African-American perspective. It was established in 1940 by W. E. B. D ...
''. 1953. Atlantic Clark University. Vol. 2 p. 62.
"Palmares" ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Online. 24 October 2007.
* Charles E. Chapman, ''
The Journal of Negro History
''The Journal of African American History'', formerly ''The Journal of Negro History'' (1916–2001), is a quarterly academic journal covering African-American life and history. It was founded in 1916 by Carter G. Woodson. The journal is owned and ...
'', Vol. 3, No. 1 (January 1918), pp. 29–32.
* Vincent Bakpetu Thompson. ''Africans of the Diaspora: The Evolution of African Consciousness and Leadership in the Americas (From Slavery to the 1920s)''. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2000. pp. 39–44.
* Glenn Alan Cheney, ''Quilombo dos Palmares: Brazil's Lost Nation of Fugitive Slaves,'' Hanover, CT:New London Librarium, 2014.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmares (Quilombo)
Colonial Brazil
Slave rebellions in Brazil
17th century in Brazil
Dutch Brazil
Slavery in Brazil