Estudo sobre os Mocambos do Cabo Norte, na última década dos setecentos

Abstract

In the lands of the Northern Cape, today's Amapá State, in the context of the colonization process of the Amazon there was the formation of several mocambos in different parts of the region. The present work analyzes the process of formation and organization of the mocambos in the South of this region in the last decade of the 18th century. Through the perspective of historical anthropology we analyze the manuscripts of the series Correspondence of Divers with the Government - catalogued in the collection of codices of the Public Archive of the State of Pará. The political processes in the region, as a border area disputed between the Portuguese and the French, influenced the runaways of African slaves and the formation of mocambos, two problems that prompted the elites and administrative sectors to take steps to capture and destroy them. But the fugitives mostly escaped, reappearing in different parts of the area. The mocambos were formed by runaway African slaves and/or natives accompanied by other social segments; they were located in the woods and mainly on the riversides; they constituted organized societies, where in some cases chiefs stood out in order to maintain order; their members established plantations, commerce and services with the different social agents. The Mocambeiros were not totally isolated from the slavery system, as they entered the forests, crossed rivers, circulated in towns and villages, and formed networks of sociability and exchanges with slaves who were inside or outside the region. Thus, the North Cape became a key scenario for the different historical subjects to search not only for freedom, but to exchange information and experiences, processes that largely affected the formation of these societies.