Quilombo

Definition

A Brazilian community formed by people who escaped slavery. Some were small and short-lived, while others lasted for many years; Palmares in north-eastern Brazil is the best-known and endured for much of the seventeenth century. The related word maroon is used for similar communities elsewhere in the Americas. Quilombos show freedom as a collective project, with their own leaders, farms and defence. See also: maroon, and the guide Resistance and Rebellion in the Atlantic World.