Portuguese Brazil · c. 1605-1695

Palmares: a free kingdom in the hills of Brazil

For almost a century, people who escaped slavery built Palmares, a network of free villages in the hills of north-east Brazil. Students explore how it lived and defended itself, the choice between Ganga Zumba and Zumbi, and why 20 November is a national day in Brazil.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1650 to AD 1680
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

For almost a century, people who escaped slavery built Palmares, a network of free villages in the hills of north-east Brazil. Students explore how it lived and defended itself, the choice between Ganga Zumba and Zumbi, and why 20 November is a national day in Brazil.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain what a quilombo was and locate Palmares on the map.
  • Describe how Palmares survived for almost a century against Dutch and Portuguese attacks.
  • Compare the choices of Ganga Zumba and Zumbi and explain how Zumbi is remembered today.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1650

Hills behind the coast

Open the map in 1650 and find Recife on the coast of Portuguese Brazil. Then move south-west to the Serra da Barriga hills, inland from the coast. Why would people escaping the sugar plantations head here?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1680

A free land

Zoom in on the Serra da Barriga. Macaco, the capital of Palmares, stood on top of these hills, with many other villages around it. Look at the terrain: how would it help defenders?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1680

Across the ocean

Zoom out over the South Atlantic. Many people in Palmares had roots in West Central Africa, and one name for Palmares was Angola Janga, "little Angola". Find Angola across the ocean. How far apart are the two coasts?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Palmares lasted from about 1605 to 1694. What would a community need to survive that long?
  2. Palmares grew crops, traded with some nearby settlers and also raided plantations. Why would neighbours trade with a quilombo they were told to fight?
  3. In 1678 Ganga Zumba accepted a treaty: freedom for people born in Palmares, but new runaways had to be returned. Why might Zumbi reject it?
  4. Estimates of the population of Palmares range from about 10,000 to 20,000 or more. Why is it so hard to know?
  5. Brazil made 20 November, the day Zumbi was killed in 1695, a national holiday. Why do countries choose heroes like Zumbi?
4

Game round

9 min

No leader of Palmares is in Rule History. Play one round as Peter the Great, who began his reign in the years when Palmares fought for survival. Afterwards, compare his choices with those of Ganga Zumba and Zumbi: what does a leader owe the people who chose to follow him?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.