One of the best known figures in the repression of slaves in Brazil was the bush captain. But what was its function in the Brazilian slave society between the 17th and 19th centuries? Do you, reader, know what it was?
The captain of the forest was also known as captain-of-assault-and-entry, among other terms. His main function was to hunt people, mainly slaves who had escaped from the farms and mines belonging to their masters.
They generally did not act alone, mostly composing troops with a variable number of forest captains, in addition to acting in conjunction with the colony's military forces.
They earned their living hunting slaves and giving them to their masters, who, in return, repaid the delivery in cash.
The captain of the forest appeared in Brazilian society after the destruction of theQuilombo do Palmares, in 1694. With the captains of the forest, the planters and the Portuguese authorities intended to prevent escapes from the farms and also impose fear on slaves if they were interested in fleeing their captivity.
However, the captain of the forest was not very popular in Brazilian colonial and imperial society. There were many allegations that the captains of the forest stole slaves who had not fled in order to hand them over to their masters and get the payment, thus circumventing the rule of trust between masters and captains. In some cases, the bush captains killed innocent captives, causing losses to the slave owners.
The captains of the forest were generally freed slaves, which guaranteed a higher social position than those who remained slaves and even the free poor, as they were closer to the masters. On the other hand, the slave origin of the bush captains further inflamed the anger of the captives against these hunters, as in the past they were in a similar social position.
Due to his function, the captain of the forest was a very important character in ensuring social stability in the colony. Without it, the flight of slaves would possibly have been even greater, which prevented the continued existence of slavery in colonial and imperial Brazil.
According to a captain-major of the colony, an employee of the Portuguese Crown, the captain of the forest was necessary “for security internal of the Peoples and to the dominion of the Masters over the Slaves and evildoers, who otherwise or all [the slaves] they would flee”. His performance would also serve so that the slaves would not rise up "against the same country [...] due to this Corps [of capitães-do-mato] the internal security and tranquility of the entire country of America, and of its subsistence". [1]
The existence of the captain of the mato in colonial and imperial history shows that violence was one of the most striking features of the formation of Brazilian society.
Note.
[1] REIS, João José Reis. Quilombos and slave revolts in Brazil. Revista USP São Paulo (28): 14-39, December/February 95/96. P. 17-18.
By Tales Pinto
Master in History
