Cerca do Macaco, also called "Cerca Real dos Macacos" or just "Macaco", was an historical settlement located on the peak of the Serra da Barriga in the state of

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It was the main settlement of the Palmares, an established group of fugitives and escaped slaves.

History

The settlement may have been founded as early as 1602, by which time Portuguese settlers were reporting that their captives were running away and building ''mocambos'', or small communities in the surrounding area. At this time, most enslaved Africans in the area were from

Portuguese Angola In southwestern Africa, Portuguese Angola was a historical Evolution of the Portuguese Empire, colony of the Portuguese Empire (1575–1951), the overseas province Portuguese West Africa of Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo Portugal (1951–1 ...

, and a report from 1671 suggests that the founders of Macaco were Angolan. ''

Quilombo A ''quilombo'' (); from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland town, settlement founded by people of Afro-Brazilians, African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were ...

s'' were settlements mainly of survivors and free-born enslaved

African people The population of Africa has grown rapidly over the past century and consequently shows a large youth bulge, further reinforced by increasing life expectancy in most African countries. Total population as of 2024 is about 1.5 billion, with ...

. No contemporary document called Palmares a ''quilombo''; instead the term '' mocambo'' was used. This suggests that Macaco in the 1600s was occupied by not only escaped enslaved Africans, but also by

mulattos ( , ) is a racial classification that refers to people of mixed African and European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the word is (). The use of this term began in the United States shortly ...

caboclo A caboclo () is a person of mixed Indigenous Brazilian and European ancestry, or, less commonly, a culturally assimilated or detribalized person of full Amerindian descent. In Brazil, a ''caboclo'' generally refers to this specific type of ' ...

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

and

poor Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

whites White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

, especially Portuguese soldiers trying to escape forced military service. Dutch descriptions by Caspar Barlaeus (published 1647) and

Johan Nieuhof Johan Nieuhof (22 July 1618 – 8 October 1672) was a Dutch traveler who wrote about his journeys to Brazil, China and India. The most famous of these was a trip of from Canton to Peking in 1655-1657, which enabled him to become an authoritativ ...

(published 1682) spoke of two larger consolidated entities in the area, "Great Palmares" and "Little Palmares". In each of these units there was a large central town that was fortified and held 5,000-6,000 people. A description of the visit of Johan Blaer to one of the larger mocambos in 1645 (which had been abandoned) revealed that there were 220 buildings in the community, a church, four smithies, and a council house. This is probably similar to the layout of Macaco at that time. After 1654 the Portuguese began organizing expeditions against the mocambos of Palmares, including Macaco. During this time, Macaco was likely a town of up to 10,000 people. Macaco became the capital of the kingdom of "Angola Janga" which according to the Portuguese meant "Little Angola," although this is not a direct translation. From 1680 to 1694,

Zumbi Zumbi ( – November 20, 1695), also known as Zumbi dos Palmares (), was a Brazilian quilombola leader and one of the pioneers of resistance to enslavement of Africans by the Portuguese in colonial Brazil. He was also the last of the kings of ...

ruled from Macaco as the king of Angola Janga. During this time, there was near constant war against the Portuguese. This concluded with a final assault against Macaco in January 1694, led by

Domingos Jorge Velho Domingos Jorge Velho (c. 1641–1705) was a Portuguese bandeirante. He was born in Santana de Parnaíba, captaincy of São Paulo, to Francisco Jorge Velho and Francisca Gonçalves de Camargo. He was responsible for the repression of severa ...

. Though Zumbi eluded capture, he was later captured and executed on 20 November 1695. After the war, Velho and his followers were given

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s in the former territory of Angola Janga, which they occupied as a means of keeping the kingdom from being reconstituted. The land surrounding Macaco has since mainly been used to cultivate sugar cane and for cattle-farming. The town of

União dos Palmares União dos Palmares is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it ...

is located 7km to the east of the site of Macaco. In 1944 it was renamed from its previous name (União) to reflect its historical significance. In 1986 the site of the city was listed in the

National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register an ...

(IPHAN), and in 2003 it was officially opened by the President of Brazil. The site is now protected by Parque Nacional Serra da Barriga and Parque Memorial Quilombo dos Palmares.http://www.quilombodospalmares.org.br/index.php?sec=projeto_parque_quilombo_palmares , Parque Memorial Quilombo dos Palmares

Notes

{{Reflist Colonial Brazil Slave rebellions in Brazil 17th century in Brazil Dutch Brazil Slavery in Brazil

History

See also

Notes