The memorial
The quilombo recreated.
Ministério da Cultura — CC BY 2.0 · Blogilberto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Renato Alves da Costa from São Paulo, Brasil — CC BY 2.0 · Ministério da Cultura — CC BY 2.0 · Thalita Chargel — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Blogilberto — CC BY-SA 4.0
On the Serra da Barriga, a hill range in União dos Palmares, Alagoas, stood the Quilombo dos Palmares, the largest community ever founded in Brazil by people who escaped slavery. It took shape in the late 1590s and reached its height in the 1690s, with between eleven and twenty thousand inhabitants, mostly Africans who had fled captivity, joined by Indigenous people and marginalised settlers. Palmares was led by Ganga Zumba and then Zumbi from a fortified settlement on the hill known as «Macaco». At least six expeditions failed to destroy it before it fell in 1694 to a large offensive that included «bandeirante» forces. Brazil recognised Zumbi as a national hero in 1995, and 20 November, the anniversary of his death, is marked as Black Consciousness Day. The hill was listed as national heritage in 1986, and since 2007 it has hosted the Quilombo dos Palmares Memorial Park, which recreates the community's dwellings and spaces and looks out over the Mundaú valley. It is about an hour and a half's drive from Maceió; check opening times before going.
The quilombo recreated.
A national hero.
Over the Mundaú valley.
Serra da Barriga, União dos Palmares municipality, Alagoas
A community founded by people escaping slavery in Brazil; Palmares was the largest.