Zumbi

Timeline

1. 1655–1670Porto Calvo · Captaincy of PernambucoBorn free in Palmares in 1655, his mother Sabina being Ganga Zumba's sister, with lineage traced to the Congo in central Africa. Captured by the Portuguese around age six, handed to priest Antônio Melo, baptized Francisco, and taught Portuguese, Latin, and Catholic rites. He escaped around 1670 at about fifteen and returned to his birthplace.
2. 1670–1680Barriga Mountains (Palmares) · Barriga MountainsAfter returning he became renowned for tactics and strategy, becoming Palmares' military commander around 1675. In 1678 the governor of Pernambuco, Pedro de Almeida, offered Ganga Zumba a peace treaty: those already escaped could be free but had to move to the Cucau valley and recognize Portuguese authority. Zumbi refused partial freedom while slavery persisted in Brazil, challenging his uncle's royal authority. Ganga Zumba then died, with accounts varying between poisoning and coup.
3. 1680–1695Macaco settlement (Cerca do Macaco) · Barriga MountainsFrom around 1680 he became Palmares' supreme leader, refusing to relocate and submit. Portuguese expeditions from 1680 to 1686 repeatedly failed to destroy the main settlement. In 1694 São Paulo bandeirante leaders Domingos Jorge Velho and Bernardo Vieira de Mello besieged Macaco with artillery, breaching it on February 6. Zumbi broke out to continue guerrilla warfare until his capture and killing on November 20, 1695, his head displayed in Recife to dispel his 'immortality' legend.