The struggles of Africans against Portuguese colonizers in Brazil took place at various times in the country's colonial history. However, no conflict has been more notable than the destruction of the Quilombo dos Palmares. Formed at the beginning of the 17th century, the Quilombo dos Palmares was destroyed under the command of the Portuguese in 1695, becoming a symbol of the African resistance against slavery in Brazil.
The Quilombo dos Palmares was composed of several agglomerations of runaway slaves, indigenous people, deserters from military forces and free men. The community of Macaco, the capital, Subupira, Dambraganga, Tabocas and Osenga, are overlooked. Among its leaders stood out the kings Denim Zumba and Zombie.
Quilombo dos Palmares was located at the time in the Captaincy of Pernambuco, in Serra da Barriga, where the state of Alagoas is today. Due to this location and the colonial conflicts of the period, the quilombolas of Palmares fought for almost a century against two of the greatest maritime and military powers of that time: Holland and Portugal.
The economic activities developed in Palmares, such as agriculture, looting and regional trade contributed enormously to guaranteeing the resistance of the quilombolas for so long. Guerrilla tactics, based on knowledge of the region superior to that held by enemies, was also another important aspect of the resistance.
But guerrilla tactics were not foolproof. As time went by and the attempts to destroy the quilombo, the Portuguese and the Dutch also got to know the locality better, reducing the advantage held by the Palmares. The use of indigenous tribes against the inhabitants of Palmares also helped in their destruction. Two moments were important for the end of the biggest quilombo that ever existed on Brazilian soil.
In 1677, Captain Fernão Carrilho carried out the first offensive against Palmares, after having succeeded in destroying two quilombos in Sergipe. Carrilho's Action took place in two moments. The first was the attack on the Alqualtune hut, which resulted in the inhabitants fleeing to another hut, the Subupira. After the escape, the quilombolas put into practice guerrilla tactics, which guaranteed the retreat of Carrilho's forces.
After some time and with the support of more than 180 men, including indigenous and Portuguese, Carrilho carried out another attack, this time against the mocambo do Amaro. There were more than a thousand houses in that hut, and Carrilho arrested numerous Africans, who were distributed among his men, including two sons of King Ganga Zumba.
The loss of several people, the weakening of the resistance and the imprisonment of her children was a heavy defeat and possibly led Ganga Zumba to negotiate a truce. In 1678, an expedition of Palmares moved to the capital of Pernambuco, where they were received by the governor of the captaincy, Aires de Souza e Castro. The truce would occur with the concession of the lands of Palmares and the freedom to trade, in exchange for the quilombolas' commitment not to receive any more runaway slaves.
The proposal did not please the landowners in the region, much less part of the quilombolas. Faced with this, a new leadership emerged among the inhabitants of Palmares: Zumbi. The latter did not accept the condition of not receiving new slaves, which led the governor of Pernambuco to appoint Gonçalo Moreira to destroy Palmares. Moreira's offensive resulted in the poisoning of Ganga Zumba. Zumbi became king of the Quilombo, took refuge with the others in the forest, guaranteeing the quilombola resistance for some time.
To definitively destroy Palmares, the Portuguese hired the São Paulo pioneer Domingos Jorge Velho, which arrived in the region in 1692. It took more than two years, thousands of men and many artillery pieces for the Bandeirante's troops to win the resistance in Quilombo dos Palmares. The construction of immense fences around the main mocambo, the Macacos, made it difficult for Velho's troops to advance. In early 1694, Palmares was destroyed, but Zumbi still managed to escape. He stayed in the woods until he was captured and killed on 20 November 1695.
Zumbi was beheaded and his head exposed in Recife. The largest quilombo built in Brazil had ended. Others would still be built, but smaller. Which did not mean the lessening of resistance to slavery. Due to this symbolic force of resistance in Palmares, November 20 is considered the Black Awareness Day in Brazil.
By Tales Pinto
Master in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/quilombo-dos-palmares-guerra-contra-escravidao.htm
