Imperialisms, Revolutions, and Resolutions in the Caribbean Amazon - The Scramble for the Amazon and the Lost Paradise of Euclides da Cunha - page 97

WhattheDutchcalled negeropstands —blackrebellions—wererifethroughoutthere-
gion: Berbice (1762), Demerara (1772), 30 Cottica, and the Coromantee (1794) uprisings
were explosions of more common “everyday forms of resistance.” The level of violen-
ce in these slave systems were as extreme as the dissipation of their masters, as many
observers at the time noted. Survival often required flight. 31 The anxieties of the French
about an invasion from the African Boni at the headwaters of the Oyapoque were quite
real. 32 Indeed, insurgencies in the Caribbean Amazon were often nourished by the hope
thatblackalliesfromthefreenationsoftheinteriorwouldassistlocaluprisings. 33 Abol-
ition of slavery in France (1794) made the Contestado lands of singular interest, and re-
ports of the time show large numbers of quilombos interacting with towns, plantations,
and markets. They were so prevalent near Macapá and along the Araguarí that there
was talk of bringing in native militia, the Mundurucu, to roust the interior fugitive set-
tlements. 34 The French and Portuguese crowns had agreed to return runaways to their
owners, since flight was becoming a general problem; extradition agreements applied
to criminals hunted for crimes like cattle rustling, slaves “stealing” themselves, insur-
gency, military desertion, and murder, as many fever deaths were blamed on poisoning
by African and Amerindian sorcerers, and indeed there was quite a bit of poisoning. 35
Fugitives to the lands of the Cabo Norte relied heavily on its rich extractive re-
sources—palm products, latexes, nuts, game, fish, and medicinals from the extensive
forests and mangroves—amply described by Aublet and a legacy of earlier Amerindian
occupants.Thesebiotictreasureswerethesurvivalresourcesfortherunawaycommunit-
ies, who learned from natives or, as detribalized natives, already knew how to use these
assets that were invisible to outsiders and also brisk items of regional trade. There were
agricultural plantations of manioc, sweet potatoes, and rice, usually destroyed by the
militias, 36 but the difficulty of eradicating the fugitive communities suggests that they
employed a broad range of decentralized supporting resources well beyond agricultural
cropping, 37 as well as constant replenishment the quilombos by new runaways. Military
reports complained bitterly about the how rapidly quilombos reconstituted themselves.
Indieas pêcheurs de la première maloca.
Figure 7.1. Syncretic cultures of the Caribbean Amazon: African and native boatmen.