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Difficulty: MediumMaroon Societies and Flight from Enslavement

Read the description below of a community in seventeenth-century Brazil:

"The quilombo of Palmares has grown into a formidable union of several settlements. They do not merely hide in the forests; they govern themselves under a leader they style 'Ganga Zumba,' cultivate crops of maize and beans, and forge iron weapons to resist our expeditions."
—Adapted from a seventeenth-century Portuguese colonial report

Which of the following historical developments is best illustrated by the passage?

  1. The establishment of grand maroonage, characterized by the creation of permanent, independent communities with self-governing structures.Answer
  2. B
    The practice of petit maroonage, where individuals temporarily left plantations to negotiate labor terms before returning.
  3. C
    The reliance on covert everyday resistance, such as tool breaking and feigning illness, to disrupt daily plantation operations.
  4. D
    The coordination of sudden, colony-wide armed rebellions aimed at the immediate overthrow of colonial capitals.

Answer

The establishment of grand maroonage, characterized by the creation of permanent, independent communities with self-governing structures.
The correct answer is correct because the description of Palmares, with its agricultural cultivation, self-governing political structure under Ganga Zumba, and armed defense, represents a classic example of grand maroonage (permanent independent communities formed by self-liberated people).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus provided in the prompt.
The passage describes a community in seventeenth-century Brazil called the quilombo of Palmares, which features self-government under a leader (Ganga Zumba), agricultural cultivation, and armed defense against colonial expeditions.
Identifying the key features of the community in the text helps classify the type of resistance it represents.
2
Differentiate between forms of resistance and maroonage in colonial slave societies.
Grand maroonage involves the creation of permanent, independent communities (like Palmares), while petit maroonage refers to temporary, short-term individual escapes. Everyday resistance refers to covert acts like tool breaking.
Applying historical definitions allows us to match the details of the passage with the correct historical concept.
3
Identify the option that aligns with the permanent, self-governing nature of Palmares described in the passage.
The option describing the establishment of grand maroonage is the correct match.
Palmares is the preeminent historical example of grand maroonage in Brazil.

Key Concept

Grand maroonage vs. petit maroonage and everyday resistance
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Maroon Societies and Flight from Enslavement

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