History - Quilombos |
"At the slave quarters we would gather every evening and prepare for escape. We were told of hidden African communities called Quilombos in the interior of the forests of Pernambuco to which escaped slaves called quilombolas would flee.
Having heard of the Quilombos, I then prepared for my escape. I felt strong as I acquired physical skills based on our African fighting traditions to be adapted to the new situation in Brasil. Strategic plans of how I would leave unnoticed began to take place at the Senzalas.
The stronger I felt about it, the more intense the connection between me and my African Gods, the Orixas became.
With low movement like a crawling animal and with astute behaviour, I fled captivity as I entered the Capoeiras; the margins of the dense forest and the end of the captivity, in search of the Promised Land, the Quilombos..."
Women of Candomble, an African-Brasilian Religion
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Quilombos were free communities of escaped slaves. The word is of African (Kimbundu) origin. They were sometimes isolated clusters of homes and sometimes more established towns and villages. Most of the information we have today about Quilombos is drawn from the records of the people who were trying to attack and disperse them.
To re-enslave and contain the Quilombolas government and private armies with capitães-do-mato (mercenaries called 'bush captains' drawn from all races) carried out raids against them.
The settlers chose geography & terrain to hide
their homes although there are general historical references to 'elaborate defence systems African in nature'.
Leaders were chosen for their bravery or wisdom and many were reputed to have been Kings and Queens in Africa. In long standing Quilombos leadership could become hereditary.
Bush Captain with a runaway from
Debret 'Picturesque History of Brasil' 1839
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"Through the dense forest of Pernambuco where the slave master had not yet dared to enter, I, now a Quilombola fought for my survival and reached the mountains of the Serra da Barriga where the African Brasilian Promised Land was based, the Quilombo dos Palmares.
Quilombo dos Palmares, one of many settlements where we could create our own way of living, worship with no fear our African Gods and create an effective defence system which would protect us from the numerous Portuguese invasions.
We had a strong leader who brought us together to defeat attacks and maintain the Quilombo dos Palmares standing for over 90 years with over 30,000 Quilombolas..."
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The most famous Quilombo was Quilombo dos Palmares, (Palm Groves) which was documented as a system of about 8 or nine separate compounds and settlements covering a large area, partly in Pernambuco and partly in Alagôas.. From the time that its existence became known, 25 separate recorded attempts were made to take it before it finally fell.
Some Quilombos were located near plantations or towns and maintained contacts with groups who wanted either to help them or to exploit them commercially. An example helping is the Quilombo, Jabaquara which was established outside of Santos (the port of São Paolo) by the inhabitants of the port to provide a place of safety for fleeing slaves.
There is evidence of Quilombos in the states of Maranhão, Alagôas, Amazonas, Pará, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo.
Main sources:
Robert Edgar Conrad, ‘Children of God’s Fire a Documentary History of Black Slavery in Brasil’ Princeton University Press 1984
Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro, 1876 cited in above publication
Arthur Ramos ‘o auto dos Quilombos,’ Revista do Insitituto Arqueológico, Históóe Geográfico Pernambucano no 37 (1941-1942), 202-207
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