During the 1600s, a vast autonomous settlement called Palmares reached its peak in northeastern Brazil. It was founded and led by people who escaped slavery, also known as Maroons.
In fact, it was one of the largest Maroon communities in the world, with a population of over 10,000.
And its citizens were constantly at war with the colonial forces. The records we have of Palmares come mainly from biased Dutch and Portuguese sources, but historians have been able to piece together much of his story.
During the transatlantic slave trade,
which began in the 1500s, about half of all enslaved African people were shipped to Portugal's American colony: Brazil.
Some escaped and found refuge in the interior of Brazil, where they established settlements called Mocambos or Quilombos.
Fugitives from slavery probably arrived in the Northeast in the late 1500s. By the 1660s, their camps had consolidated into a powerful confederation known today as the Quilombo of Palmars.
It consisted of a central capital connecting dozens of villages, which specialized in agricultural goods or served as military training grounds. The citizens of the Palmares or Palmaristas were ruled by a king and defended by an organized army.
African peoples and blacks and indigenous peoples of Brazilian origin came seeking refuge. They collectively fished, hunted, raised livestock, planted gardens and grew crops such as cassava, maize and sugarcane.
They also made frequent use of palm trees named palmares,
turning palm products into butter, wine, and light. Palmaristas made palm husks into pipes and the leaves into mats and baskets.
They traded some of these goods with Portuguese settlers for products such as gunpowder and salt.
In return, the settlers avoided raids by the Palmaris during which they would seize weapons and take prisoners.
The Portuguese were related to other invading imperialists, but they saw local rebellions and the Palmars as their own internal threat.
Palmares threatened the institution of slavery—the foundation of Brazil's economy. During the 1670s, the Portuguese increased their attacks.
By this time, Ganga-Zomba was the leader of the Palmars. He ruled from Macau, which served as the capital.
His allies and family members ruled over other villages—women played an important role in operations and defense.
While they were fighting the Portuguese,
the Palmaristas used the landscape to their advantage. Concealed and built on high ground, their moquimbos offered excellent exploration.
They built hidden trenches connected by sharp currents that swallowed unsuspecting soldiers and false roads that led to ambushes. They launched counter-attacks under the cover of night and were constantly abandoning and building settlements to avoid the Portuguese.
In 1678, after years of unsuccessful attacks, the Portuguese offered to negotiate a peace treaty with Ganga-Zomba. The terms they agreed to recognize the independence of Palmares and the freedom of everyone born there.
However, the treaty required that the Palmaris pledge allegiance to the crown and return all past and future fugitives from slavery.
Many Palmaristas disagreed, among them Zombi—the nephew of Ganga-Zomba—himself a rising leader.
Shortly thereafter, Ganga-zumba is killed,
possibly by a group associated with his nephew. As the new leader of Palmares, Zumbi rejected the treaty and resumed resistance for another 15 years. But in February 1694, the Portuguese captured the capital after a disastrous siege.
The zombie escapes, but they eventually find him and ambush him. And on November 20, 1695, Portuguese forces killed Zombie.
His death was not the end of Palmares, but it was a crushing blow. After years of war, there were very few rebels in the area.
Those who did coalesced around the new leaders and maintained a presence, however small, into the 1760s. Although, Palmares does not have thousands of other quilombos still intact today.
November 20, the day the zombies died, is celebrated as Black Day throughout Brazil.
But Zumbi was just one of many Palmaristas. We only know some of their names, but their fight for freedom resonates centuries later.
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