Chico Rei is a semi-mythic heroic figure from the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

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 ...

. According to oral tradition, in about 1740, Galanga, a tribal leader from the Congo, was taken along with a large part of his tribe and sold as a

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. They were brought from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

to Brazil in a

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting Slavery, slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea ( ...

and during this journey his authority amongst his compatriots was noticed by the Portuguese slave traders who nicknamed him "Chico Rei". In Brazil he was set to work in the

gold mine Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to more comple ...

s of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. By hiding flakes of gold about his body and in his hair, he amassed sufficient funds to allow him, after 5 years or so, to buy his son's freedom and later his own. He was also able to acquire the Encardideira gold mine in Vila Rica (now

Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ), formerly Vila Rica (, ), is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The city, a former Brazilian Gold Rush, colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains, was designated a ...

). Profits from the mine were used to help other slaves to buy their freedom and to build the church of Santa Efigênia, also in Vila Rica. The Encardideira mine has been disused since 1888 when slavery was abolished in Brazil and it is now open to the public. The legend of Chico Rei has become part of the Brazilian folklore and his admirable tale of fight for freedom has captured the imagination of many Brazilian storytellers. His story is often told in Brazilian folklore tales books, and it has been told both in theater and cinema as well.

References

External links

Chico Rei, nem história nem lenda: é só uma nota de rodapé.Chico Rei biografiaCongadoHistória Afro-Brasileira. Chico-ReiSilva, R.A. Chico Rei Congo do Brasil, em Memória Afro-brasileira. Imaginário, cotidiano e poder
Selo Negro Edições, 2007. Slavery in Brazil Brazilian folklore Brazilian slaves {{Brazil-hist-stub