In history textbooks, in history classes and in advertisements that circulate in the media, we always come across references about the Quilombo dos Palmares, considered by much of the Brazilian population as one of the most important icons of black resistance against work slave.
However, Palmares was not the only quilombo to resist black slavery in Brazil. In different regions of the country there were quilombola communities. Do you know if there are remnants of quilombos in the region where you live? What do you know about these communities?
As said before, Palmares was not the only quilombo in Brazil. In the province of Rio de Janeiro existed the Quilombo de Vassouras. In the year 1838, approximately 300 slaves who lived being exploited and flogged in the coffee plantations in the region revolted and articulated a great rebellion against their masters.
According to Cardoso (2006), the rebellion in the Quilombo de Vassouras could have taken on grandiose proportions if the quilombolas had conquered the domain of a gunpowder factory that was at the foot of Serra da Estrala, close to Quilombo, what did not It happened.
The Vassouras revolt served as an example for slave masters to be alert against the growing insurrections and summon troops of the Imperial Force to end and suffocate the rebellion. The leader of the movement in the Quilombo de Vassouras, Manoel Congo, was sentenced to death. The other slaves who participated in the revolt were sentenced to three years of gonzo (iron hinge that involved the neck) and 650 lashes that were applied a maximum of 50 per day, to prevent the slave from dying before paying the verdict. In this way, the story of the Quilombo de Vassouras ended, which had a similar ending to the Quilombo dos Palmares.
Leandro Carvalho
Master in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/quilombo-vassouras.htm