Zumbi executed - November 20, 1695

On this day in 1695, Afro-Brazilian anti-resistance leader Zumbi was executed by the Portuguese. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hey I'm Eves and you're listening to This
Day in History Class, a podcast where we bring you
a slice of history every day. Today is November. The

(00:25):
day was November. Zoombie, an Afro Brazilian leader of the
anti slavery resistance in Brazil, was executed by the Portuguese.
He has since become a symbol of black freedom. Today,
the date of his execution is commemorated in Brazil as
Black Awareness Day or Black Consciousness Day. Zombie was born

(00:46):
in Palmads in the Portuguese colony of Brazil, and he's
believed to be the descendant of the Ivangala warriors in Angola.
From the time people began enslaving Africans and sending them
to Brazil in the fifteen hundreds, still was the biggest
destination for enslaved Africans in the Americas. Africans and their
descendants who had escaped slavery in Brazil built maroon settlements

(01:09):
known as Mocambo's. A united collection of Mocambo's has been
called a Quilombo. Pal Maries, where Zombie was born was
a kilombo in the mountains of northeast Brazil that was
founded in sixteen o five. Portuguese colonists frequently attacked them,
and pal Mades was no exception. A few years after
Zombie was born, the Portuguese kidnapped him, and for years

(01:32):
he lived in the coastal monastery. He learned Portuguese, Latin
and the tenants of Catholicism, but when Zoombie was around
fifteen years old, he escaped and returned to pal Marries.
At this point, his uncle, Ganga Zoomba was the king
of pal Mades. Ganga Zooba appointed Zoobie to a post
as a military commander, since Portuguese forces and plantation owners

(01:56):
were consistently raiding the settlement. In response, the people of
pal Mads conducted raids against the Portuguese, including ones led
by Zoombie. They intimidated colonists and captured people enslaved on plantations.
Enslaved people who escaped to pal Madus were considered free,
but those who were captured at plantations and taken to

(02:17):
the colombo were required to work. They could earn their
freedom by capturing someone else. Enslaved people who fled pal
Modus were punished if they were later recaptured Through this system,
Palmdu population grew significantly. The people in Palmdus were farmers, hunters,
and fishers. Since they bartered with traders for guns and ammunition,

(02:40):
soldiers were well armed. Zoombie gained authority and respect as
people recognized his strength, wisdom, and courage in battle. In
sixteen seventy eight, the governor of the captain Sea of Fernambuku,
Pedro Almeida, negotiated a peace treaty with King Ganga Zoomba.
The king agreed to the treaty, but Zoombie did not

(03:01):
like its terms, nor did he trust the Portuguese. Zombie
rejected the deal and Ganga Zoomba's acceptance of it, and
he incited a revolt. Ganga Zoomba was poisoned and died,
and Zoombie became king. He continued pal Modicis fight against
the Portuguese. Most Colombos did not last long because of
Portuguese attacks, but Palomats lasted for nearly a century. Though

(03:25):
Zoombie continued the anti Portuguese resistance, the Portuguese aggressively attacked
pal Madus, burning the land and overpowering its fighters with
their forces. Zoombie was captured and decapitated on November and
Palmatus fell. The Portuguese celebrated the defeat and used it
to send a message to other resistance fighters who dared

(03:48):
to take up arms against them. Brazil was the last
nation in the America's to abolish slavery when it did
so in eighteen eighty eight. In the centuries after his death,
stories about Zombie were passed down in oral traditions, and
primary sources related to his history were dug up for
Brazilians of African descent. Palm Modus is remembered for its

(04:09):
challenge to colonial authority, and Zoombi's legacy is honored as
one of heroic resistance. I'm eat stuff Coote and hopefully
you know a little more about history today than you
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