THE slavery was an institution that existed in Brazil for over 300 years, and indigenous, Africans and their descendants were enslaved throughout that period. The history of enslavement is also the history of leaks, of the fights, that is, from the resistance in general of those who were enslaved.
Brazil was the country that received the largest number of enslaved Africans: almost five million. This means that, over the centuries, resistance against slavery has manifested itself in different ways, and in places like the Quilombo dos Palmares have been turned into one of the great symbols of struggle.
Slave revolts were also one of the extremely common forms of resistance and took place across the country. Could be violent and result in death of slave masters and their families, and many sought the subversion of order. The more slaves present in a region, the greater the chances that revolts would take place, and Bahia at the beginning of the 19th century was marked by this.
Also access: The forms of resistance practiced by slaves
19th century slavery Bahia
Bahia in the early 19th century was marked by a large number of slave revolts. Bahia was also one of the states that most received Africans enslaved by the slave trade. Of these, the two main groups were the nagos (Yoruba) and the haussas. The number of slave revolts is directly related to the high number of slaves in that province.
The large presence of Nagôs and Hausas also contributes to this, as they were peoples who had a recent history of involvement in wars. Thus, Bahia in the first half of the 19th century hosted thirty slave revolts, half of which took place in the 1820s.|1| One of the first stirrings of this period was the Revolt of 1807.
This uprising was discovered before it started, and its discovery took place in the month of May 1807. The slaves who organized themselves had in their plans the realization of attacks against catholic churches and your images and wanted install a Muslim authority in the power of Savior. Then they planned to conquer other places in the Northeast.
Countless revolts took place in the following years, but the history of resistance and slave revolts was marked by Revoltofmale, which took place in Salvador, in 1835, and mobilized 600 slaves in search of their freedom. The fear caused by this insurrection was engraved in the minds of the gentlemen who feared that a new action of this type would take place in Brazil.
Participants
The Malês Revolt took place in Salvador and took place at dawn. January 25, 1835. At that time, this capital was one of the main slave cities in Brazil and had only 22% of its population made up of free whites. African slaves (and their descendants) were 40% of population total of the city that, at the time, was from 65 thousand inhabitants.|2|
It was in this scenario that the biggest slave revolt in Brazil took place. The participants in the Malês Revolt were mostly Nagô, but it is also known that the uprising was attended by African Hausas and Tapas (also known as nupes). Most of those involved were Muslim, but many were also adept at religionsinheadquartersAfrican.
The involvement of Muslims was something remarkable in this event and highlighted the role of religion in the struggle for social transformation. The importance of Muslims was so great that it influenced the way this revolt was called. The word malian comes from imale, an expression that in the Yoruba language means Muslim.
The revolt was attended by 600 enslaved Africans, and its leaders arranged for it to happen at the end of the Ramadan, holy month for Muslims. The revolt was set for the very day of Lailat al-Qadr, the feast of the Night of Glory — the moment when the Koran was revealed to Muhammad (Mohammed), the prophet of Islam.
The participants of the Malês Revolt were all african, and there is evidence that, if victorious, the rebels intended to turn against the entire population born in Brazil. Those involved were also mostly urban slaves, and very few farm slaves participated in this revolt. The few farm slaves who participated were from the Recôncavo Baiano (outskirts of Salvador).
Read too:Guerra dos Farrapos - one of the revolts that took place in the Regency Period
Leaders
The Malês Revolt had eight leaders, most of which were Nagô. Their names were Ahuna; Pacific Licutan; Sule or Nicobé; Dassalu or Damalu; Gustar; Manoel Calafete (released); Luís Sanim; and Elesbão do Carmo or Dandará. The listing of these names was presented by historian João José Reis.|3|
Outcome
The Malês Revolt broke out abruptly in the dawn of the dayJanuary 25th, because the plot had been denounced and all the planning fell apart when that happened. The revolt had been planned by urban slaves, who took advantage of the greater freedom of movement they had in relation to slaves who worked in the fields.
As mentioned, the uprising had a strong involvement with Islam, and this was noticeable because the Africans who rebelled were wearing a abadahWhite, typical Muslim costume. Also, many of them used amulets with passages from the Koran written in Arabic. They believed that these amulets would protect their bodies.
Fighting spread for hours on the streets of Salvador and resulted in the death of 70 of the Africans involved and nine deaths in the forces fighting the rebels. The last battle took place in a place in Salvador called children's water. Many of the Africans, cornered, tried to flee across the sea and ended up drowning. The Malês Revolt, therefore, failed.
Read too: Malês Revolt — the biggest slave revolt in Brazilian history
punishments
The punishments against those involved were severe and even reached the freedmen who were not involved in the said revolt. The punished suffered with the prison, O scourge, a deportation and the execution. In all, four of those involved were sentenced to death, namely: Jorge da Cruz Barbosa (Ajahi), Peter, Gonçalo and Joaquim. These four were executed by firing squad.
This attempt contributed to increase the repression on the population of slaves and freedmen in Salvador. A law passed that year determined that all Africans and descendants suspected of being involved in slave revolts would be deported to the African continent. There are statistics that indicate that there was a deportation of thousands of blacks to Africa.
This rigidity came about because slaveholders feared that a slave rebellion along the lines of Haitian Revolution happen in Brazil. As João José Reis put it, “Haiti penetrated, like a nightmare, the stately homes, government palaces and even the clubs white rebels”. |4|
|1| KINGS, John Joseph. Slave Revolts. In.: SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and GOMES, Flávio (org.). Dictionary of slavery and freedom. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2018. P. 393.
|2| KINGS, John Joseph. The Malês Revolt in 1835. To access, click on here.
|3| Same as note 2.
|4| KINGS, John Joseph. We find ourselves in the field dealing with freedom: the black resistance in nineteenth-century Brazil. In.: MOTA, Carlos Guilherme (org.). trip incomplete: the Brazilian experience. São Paulo: Senac, 1999. P. 249.
*Image credit: Stefano Ember and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/revolta-males.htm
