Zeferina (fl. 1826) was a female leader of an 1826 slave revolt, the Revolt of Quilombo do Urubu, outside Salvador, Bahia.[1]
Zeferina | |
|---|---|
| Born | Portuguese West Africa |
| Battle | Revolt of Quilombo do Urubu |
| Criminal penalty | Forced labor |
Early life and enslavement
editZeferina was originally from Angola, but was brought to Brazil as a slave.[2]
Revolt of Quilombo do Urubu
editIn Piraja, in the outskirts of Salvador in Bahia, fugitive slaves and indigenous Tupinamba created a community in the woods called the Quilombo do Urubu. They grew their own food and performed candomble rituals. From here, they conducted constant offensives to free enslaved people. One of the leaders of a December 1826 revolt was Zeferina. [3][4] On December 15, the rebels captured a village in Cabula, a neighboring district to Piraja. On December 17, thirty soldiers from Salvador were sent to put down the rebellion.[3] Armed with "bows and arrows, knives, pitchforks, hatchets and spears," the rebels won the first engagement with the soldiers.[5] However, when reinforcements arrived, the rebels were defeated.[6][7]
Capture
editAfter being arrested, Zeferina was forced to confess the nature of the rebels' plans. Afterwards, she, along with another leader named Antonio, was condemned to forced labor for her role in the uprising.[6]
In popular culture
editBrazilian artist Dalton Paula's painting Zeferina depicts her.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Giovana Xavier (2016). "Zeferina". In Franklin W. Knight; Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (eds.). Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro–Latin American Biography. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199935796.
- ^ a b Cotter, Holland (2018-10-12). "Brazil Enthralls With an Art Show of Afro-Atlantic History". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
- ^ a b Reis (1988, p. 122)
- ^ Kaufman, Will; Francis, John Michael (2006). Iberia and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History: a Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 942. ISBN 978-1-85109-421-9.
- ^ Reis (1988, pp. 122–3)
- ^ a b Reis (1988, p. 123)
- ^ Olufheimi, Taiwo (2022). Reconsidering Reparations. Oxford University Press. p. 211.
Bibliography
edit- Reis, João José (1988). "Slave Resistance in Brazil: Bahia, 1807-1835". Luso-Brazilian Review. 25 (1): 111–144. ISSN 0024-7413. JSTOR 3513114.
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