Quilombo dos Palmares: Brazil's Lost Nation of Fugitive Slaves

Brazil's Quilombo dos Palmares was a nation of fugitive slaves that thrived throughout the span of the 17th century. As many as 20,000 or more people — among them Africans, Indians, and whites — lived in several cities in mountains surrounded by dense forest. They were at almost constant war with the greatest empires on Earth. In its century of existence, Palmares brought together innumerable cultures to form its own language, religion, government, values, and way of life. Its last king, Zumbi, is believed to have been well educated, having studied Latin and the culture of Europe. In 1694, Palmares was exterminated. Nothing identifiably Palmarians remains — not one bit of art, not one shard of pottery, not one word about how people lived there. Glenn Alan Cheney's comprehensive and well documented history extends to modern times as archeologists search for any remnants of Palmares, and Brazilians search for its meaning in the context of the 21st century.