Quilombo
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A quilombo (from a Kimbundu word) is a hinterland settlement originally created by runaway slaves in Brazil and sometimes included a minority of marginalised Portuguese, indigenous Native Americans and other non-black, non-slave Brazilians. Some of these settlements were near Portuguese settlements and active both in defending against capitães do mato commissioned to recapture slaves and in facilitating the escape of even more slaves. For this reason, they were targets of the Dutch then Portuguese colonial authorities and, later, of the Brazilian state and slaveowners. Some quilombos that were farther from Portuguese settlements and the later Brazilian cities were tolerated and still exist as towns today, with inhabitants speaking distinctly African-Portuguese Creole languages.
The term "quilombo" establishes a link between Palmares and the culture of central Angola where the majority of slaves were forcibly brought to Barzil, because, during the time of the slave trafficking, natives in central Angola, called Imbangala, had created an institution called a "kilombo" that united various tribes of diverse lineage into a community designed for military resistance during that time of upheaval.
The most famous of the quilombos was Palmares, an independent, self-sustaining republic near Recife, established in 1600. At its height, Palmares was massive and consisted of several settlements with a combined population of over 30,000 renegade blacks. Ganga Zumba and Zumbi are the two most well known warrior-leaders of Palmares which, after a history of conflict with, first, Dutch and then Portuguese colonial authorities, finally fell to a Portuguese artillery assault in 1694.
In Brazil, both men are honored as heroes and symbols of black pride, freedom and democracy to this day.
In the Spanish of the Americas, the word has taken on the meanings of "brothel", "mess" and "boondocks".
See also
- Atlantic slave trade
- Cafuzo
- Capoeira
- Garifuna
- Palenque - the equivalent settlements in Spanish America
- Slavery
- Triangular trade
- Zambopl:Quilombo