Biography of Xica da Silva

One well known female slave from Brazil who is famous for her freedom from slavery and her integration into the white community is Xica da Silva. Henry Louis Gates describes the interesting life of this woman in the PBS documentary, "Brazil: A Racial Paradise?" Xica was a Afro-Brazilian woman born into slavery in the early 18th century in the town of Diamantina, Minas Gerais. Gates outlines that during this century, the Portuguese were highly interested in profiting from gold and diamond mining. Unlike many other Brazilian cities, Diamantina was home to free whites, free blacks, and free indians. Xica was a concubine to a very wealthy diamond mine owner, Joao Oliveira. They maintain a relationship, and after a short period he takes Xica as his wife.

Her story is fascinating, because she acquires large amounts of wealth being married to Oliveira, but still her dream was not to be rich, but to be free. Oliveira fears that his wife would flee from him if he granted her freedom. As a Christmas present, he buys Xica her freedom, and she remains with him, demonstrating her loyalty by bearing 13 children by Oliveira!

Although there are many myths surrounding the story of this famous Brazilian woman, what is true about her is that she lived like a white woman would have lived. Xica surrounded herself with the Europeans, attending social gatherings with whites, acquiring education and status within her community, and even being buried in an all white church.

Xica is associated with "Branqueamento," or whitening, of herself and her children. It was important to her to rid herself of her African heritage in order to climb the social ladder and achieve freedom.

Slave rebellion of 1814, Bahia

A number of slave rebellions took place throughout several regions of Brazil in the 17th century, but the rebellion I would like to highlight is the 1814 slave rebellion in Bahia. Although unsuccessful, Landers and Robinson highlight this slave rebellion in "Slaves, Subjects, and Subversives" as highly important for several reasons. 

The ability to be able to revolt came from the ability to establish Quilombos, or communities of runaway slaves, which may have also included free blacks, whites, and Indians. The slaves believed that organization and plotting could safely occur in these communities that existed away from the larger cities and plantations. 

Landers and Robinson discuss other forms of slave organization in Bahia, which included dance meetings called "batuques" and religious candomble gatherings. The authorities of Bahia sought to close down or destroy these institutions which brought slaves together and gave them a sense of community. Additionally, these organizations had been a meeting place for slaves to plan revolts, such as the revolt in 1814. 

To briefly summarize the slave revolt of 1814, a group of rebels attacked a few plantations and fishing villages, killing several white leaders. After the police were sent out to control the revolt, 58 slaves and 14 officials were left dead. Although considered a failed attempt, this revolt, along with a series of other revolts in Bahia led to the deaths of many white officials.  

Punishments for the slaves included public hangings and deportation to Africa. The rebellions in Bahia demonstrated the importance of the Quilombos and other institutions which facilitated the organization of black slaves as well as indigenous slaves. The sense of community allowed these Brazilian slaves to stay connected and fight for their freedom. 

Capoeira: A cultural dance, or something more?

In addition to the importance of song in Afro-Brazilian history, I would like to mention the importance of Capoeira, a partner based half martial art and half dance that originated from the plantation slaves. 

As told by Henry Louis Gates in the documentary, "Brazil: A Racial Paradise?" Capoeira remains a highly popular cultural activity to this day. The documentary goes on to explain that life on the plantations was very brutal, with beatings and torture inflicted upon the slaves daily. Thus, the plantation slaves needed a way to train and practice defending themselves in case of danger. 

The slaves would be gathered, a distance away from the fazenda (big house), and would train each other with these martial arts movements. The movement, a combination of turns, kicks, and arm movements, would be kept in time by the beating of drums. When the cavalry was heard approaching, the beating of the drums would change to the sound of horses galloping, that way the slaves would cease their martial arts movements and replace them with dancing movements. 

It is important to remember that the slaves were clever individuals, who when put together, utilized the Capoeira method of training to strengthen their sense of community. 

Brief clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H0D8VaIli0

Holding onto the past, dealing with the present, hoping for the future

I would like to detail one aspect of Brazilian slave life which may appear less important, but left a lasting impression on the society of Brazil. The use of song carried over a cultural influence from Africa. 

In a passage from "Slaves, Subjects, and Subversives," John Luccock recalls his observations of slaves transporting heavy loads in the streets, "...To give rhythm to their work and coordinate their steps, the leader will sing a short, simple African song, at the end of which the group will respond in a loud chorus. The song will go on so long as the work lasts and with this they make their burden less and cheer up their spirits. I have at times the impression that these people are not insensitive to the pleasures of their memories of the homes they have lost and will never see again. What is certain is that these songs give to the streets a joy that in other ways they are missing"(Landers & Robinson, p.258). 

Clearly singing verses not only brought together slaves as a means of encouragement during their workdays, but also as a reminder of the happiness they once knew from Africa. Additionally, it allowed slaves to maintain their native language, which was many times abandoned for Portuguese. Music as a form of therapy is an effective tool in managing stress and lifting spirits, both of which the Brazilian slaves desperately needed. 

As the observer, Luccock goes on to describe the abundance of slaves in Brazil, as there were multitudes of African laborers in Rio de Janeiro. He recalls that slaves working along the roads were gawked at, especially by visitors for their foreign behavior. 
I would argue that in a way, slaves were a source of entertainment and mystery, from their appearance to their language to their cultural practices. It never occurred to me to look at the slaves from a perspective other than as a means of capital for the Europeans. These owners in Brazil had a large learning curve to understand their slaves.

Biography of African-born slave Mahommah

The primary source document I have examined for this analysis of Brazilian slavery accounts the life of Mahommah Baquaqua through his journey across the Atlantic in the early 1800's. Born in the interior of Africa, Mahommah was captured, sold into slavery, and traveled overseas to several areas, including a brief period of enslavement in Brazil. The story of Mahommah is very fascinating, as his oral history gave detailed descriptions of the brutality he faced as a person owned by someone else. Particularly in Brazil, Mahommah dealt with beatings, deprivation of food and water, and grueling labor in scorching conditions. 

Mahommah recounts the terrible beatings that he endured if his owner was not pleased with his days work, and frequently mentions that death would be more desirable than continuing life as a slave. After a failed attempt at running away, only to be returned to his angered master, Mahommah feels desperation to end his terrible situation. 

One particular night is recounted by Mahommah, " I at last made up my mind to drown myself; I would rather die than live to be a slave. I then ran down to the river and threw myself in, but being seen by some persons who were in a boat, I was rescued from drowning" (p. 46). After the suicide attempt, Mahommah mentioned that he was grateful that it was unsuccessful.

Despite these many obstacles, Mahommah was a man of God, a convert to Christianity who never lost faith in his fight for freedom. After spending close to three years in slavery in Brazil in various regions, Mahommah receives an opportunity to travel to New York, a city in a free land, where he heard that slavery does not exist.

One of the most interesting parts of this account is Mahommah's strong reaction to the thought of being free. He accounts, "That was that the happiest time in my life, even now my heart thrills with joyous delight when I think of that voyage, and believe that the God of all mercies ordered all for my good; how thankful was I"(p.52). 

Mahommah is clear in his message that the hope of one day breaking out of the bondage of slavery was the most important dream of his entire life. 

http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/baquaqua/baquaqua.html

Sources

Gatasnegrasbrasileiras. "Chica Da Silva." Black Women of Brazil. Wordpress, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. (Image)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H0D8VaIli0 (Video)

Baquaqua, Mahommah. "Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua. Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua, a Native of Zoogoo,."  BY GEO. E. POMEROY & CO., TRIBUNE OFFICE., 2004. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Landers, Jane, and Barry Robinson. Slaves, Subjects, and Subversives: Blacks in Colonial Latin America. Albuquerque: U of New Mexico, 2006. Print.

http://www.blackpast.org/gah/baquaqua-mahommah-gardo-1824-1857 (Image)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/featured/black-in-latin-america-full-episode-brazil-a-racial-paradise/224/