União dos Palmares is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

located in the

Brazilian state The federative units of Brazil () are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation, and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Federative Repu ...

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

. 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 city was an active rail stop with regular passenger service, it was named simply União due to its rail junction joining Alagoas and

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

. The name was changed in 1944 to reflect its historic significance. The city is increasingly seeing domestic and foreign tourist drawn by historical and natural features that are now protected in Parque Nacional Serra da Barriga and Parque Memorial Quilombo dos Palmares.

History

The city of União dos Palmares has a historic importance to

Afro-Brazilians Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...

. On a nearby hill was a mocambo or, in more recent terms, a

quilombo A ''quilombo'' (); from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland town, settlement founded by people of Afro-Brazilians, African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were ...

. These were centers of African slaves fleeing and resisting

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. Known as the

Quilombo dos Palmares Palmares, or Quilombo dos Palmares, was a ''quilombo'', a community of escaped slaves and others, in colonial Brazil that developed from 1605 until its suppression in 1694. It was located in the captaincy of Pernambuco, in what is today the Bra ...

this was the largest and most organizedhttp://www.articlemyriad.com/69.htm , Oppression and Rebellion: Slavery in Brazil and The Quilombo at Palmares of the many quilombos in Brazil. The most famous figure of the Quilombo dos Palmares was Zumbi dos Palmares. The quilombo reached a population somewhere around 30,000 composed of former slaves and some Amerindian allies. Between 1672 and 1696 it withstood repeated attacks by colonial forces until it fell to regular forces with artillery.

Present Day Relationship to History

The city is the gateway to the Parque Memorial Quilombo dos Palmares in the Parque Nacional Serra da Barriga and described as "A Terra da Liberdade" (A land of liberty). Memorial celebrations attract visitors and the park is a natural area preserving endangered

Atlantic semi-deciduous forests The Atlantic semi-deciduous forests, also known as the Atlantic interior forests, are a belt of tropical moist broadleaf forests that are part of the Atlantic Forests complex of eastern Brazil. The semi-deciduous forests form a transitional zone ...

of the Mata Atlântica. The park attracts visitors both domestic and foreign to tourist accommodations around the city. The park and city were given publicity by a 20 November 2003 ceremonial opening by the President of Brazil.http://www.quilombodospalmares.org.br/index.php?sec=historia_serra_barriga , Serra de Barriga History

References

External links

Wikimapia: União dos PalmaresParque Memorial Quilombo dos PalmaresPortal: União Notícia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uniao Dos Palmares Municipalities in Alagoas