In Brazil, the world’s first slave revolt occurred at the end of the 1500s, which grew into a powerful black movement known today as the Palmares story.
It lasted more than 100 years and threatened the institution of slavery, which was the foundation of the Brazilian economy.
The Quilombo dos Palmares (Palmares for short) was the largest association of African slaves in Latin America and a military force to be reckoned with in Brazil.
It was built in the region of the current state of Alagoas and reached a population of about 20 thousand inhabitants.
It was one of the great symbols of the resistance of slaves in Brazil and was the target of expeditions organized by the Portuguese and the Dutch.
(Zumbi: The last king of Palmares – Marc Adam Hertzman & Flavio dos Santos Gomes)
It was destroyed in 1694, and its leader, Zumbi, was killed the following year in an ambush.
The Quilombo dos Palmares emerged at the end of the 16th century, in the territory of the captaincy of Pernambuco, more precisely in a region where the state of Alagoas is located today.
The quilombo was formed by slaves who had run away from the mills in the Pernambuco region and chose the Serra da Barriga region in the forest zone of Alagoas.
The first known record that mentions the Quilombo dos Palmares dates back to 1597, although some theories sustain that the quilombo existed before.
Over time, Palmares grew and became famous, inspiring other slaves to resist and escape. It had about 20 thousand inhabitants.
It was called Quilombo dos Palmares because it was built in a region with a large number of palm trees, and these trees had countless uses, as they provided food for the quilombolas and their leaves were used to make the roof of the shacks that were built.”