Quilombo - History

History

See Atlantic Slave Trade for a comprehensive narrative of slavery in Brazil

Settlements are formed by enslaved Africans who have successfully run away after many attempts, and after many years of a life of slavery. Some owners of enslaved people, like Friedrich won Weech, regard the first escape attempt as a part of the process of ‘breaking in’ new slaves. The first escape attempt would be punished severely as a deterrent for future escapes. Enslaved Africans who tried to escape a second time would be sent to slave prison, and those who tried a third time would be sold. In general, enslaved Africans who were caught running away were also required to wear an iron collar around their necks at all times, in addition to the punishment they received.

Not all enslaved Africans who ran away formed settlements in Brazil. Escape from a life of slavery is a matter of opportunity. Settlements were formed in areas with dense populations of slaves, like Pernambuco, where the biggest collection of mocambos formed the quilombo that was Palmares. Some, like Mahommah G. Baquaqua, escaped to New York because his multiple attempts at escape and suicide led to him being sold to a ship’s captain.

It is widely believed that the term quilombo establishes a link between settlements and the culture of central West Africa where the majority of enslaved Africans were forcibly brought to Brazil. During the time of slave trafficking, natives in central Angola, called Imbangala, had created an institution called a kilombo that united various tribes of diverse lineage into a community designed for military resistance.

Many quilombos were near Portuguese plantations and settlements. To keep their freedom, they were active both in defending against capitães do mato and being commissioned to recapture other runaway slaves. At the same time, they facilitated the escape of even more enslaved Africans. For this reason, they were targets of the Dutch, then Portuguese colonial authorities and, later, of the Brazilian state and slaveowners.

Despite the atmosphere of cooperation between some quilombos and the surrounding Portuguese settlements, they were almost always eventually destroyed. 7 of 10 major quilombos in colonial Brazil were terminated within two years of formation. Some mocambos that were farther from Portuguese settlements and the later Brazilian cities were tolerated and still exist as towns today, with their dwellers speaking distinctly African-Portuguese Creole languages.