Fight for the land – Izaque Oliveira Sampaio’s (SEC-BA/Uneb) review of “Remanescentes de quilombos: slavery, territorial disputes and institutional racism”, by Paulo Rosa Torres
Gilmar Bittencourt, Paulo Rosa Torres, Ana Claudia Gomes Souza e Marcos Cahali Borges de Souza | Imagem: CidadaniaQuilombolas
Abstract: The book covers the history of slavery in Brazil, from its origins to its legalization and the resistance and revolts that followed. It discusses the formation of quilombos, communities of escaped slaves, and their ongoing struggle for recognition and land ownership. The last section focuses on the legal recognition of quilombola territories, the challenges they face, and the denial of their rights.
Keywords: Remnants of Quilombos, Institutional Racism, Territorial Disputes.
Remnants of Quilombos: Slavery, Territorial Disputes and Institutional Racism, published in 2021 by Dialética, is a book written by Paulo Rosa Torres. The work, which results from his doctoral thesis defended at the Catholic University of Salvador (UCSAL) in 2020, aims to discuss the struggle of the remaining quilombo communities for the titling of their traditional territories and the challenges for the realization of this right. By using the deductive method, the author highlights relevant aspects in this conflict, such as diversity, invisibility and the quilombos themselves and remnants of quilombos.
Paulo Rosa Torres is an adjunct professor at the State University of Feira de Santana, where he teaches undergraduate classes in Agrarian, Urban and Civil Law. He holds a master’s degree in Territorial Planning and Social Development from UCSAL (2011) and a PhD in Territorial Planning and Social Development from the same institution (2020). In addition to this book, the author wrote “Land and Territoriality of Pasture Areas in the Semi-Arid Region of Bahia” (2013) and organized “Dystopias and Utopias among the Debris of Our Time” (2020). He acts as a consultant in Rural and Urban Land Law and is the author of articles on rural and urban land issues and Traditional Peoples and Communities. His works indicate a legal action in defense of the social causes of Traditional Peoples and Communities.
The present work is based on theoretical sources of authors such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Christian Delacampagne, Temislav R. Femenick, Olivier Pétré-Grenouilleau, Lilia Schwarcz, Renato Ortiz, Clovis Moura, Flávio Gomes, Décio Freitas, Jacob Gorender, Joaquim Nabuco , João José Reis, Abidias do Nascimento, among others, as well as decrees and laws present in the Brazilian Constitution of 1988.
The work is structured in five chapters and final considerations. In the first chapter, entitled “Slavery: Origins, Naturalization and Legitimation”, the author discusses the history of slavery in different times and spaces to show that the phenomenon is not directly linked to the beginning of humanity, contradicting the idea of its naturalization and legitimation. To this end, he examines references to slavery in Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman and Hebrew societies during Antiquity, comparing them with slavery in the Middle Ages and in the Modern Age. The author concludes that, although some conceive slavery as a natural phenomenon present since human society and prehistory, it emerged together with writing, the State and its forms of control.
In the second chapter, entitled “African Slavery in Brazil: Antecedents, The Legality of Brazilian Slavery, Brazilian Slavery in Illegality”, Torres presents a historical review of the trafficking of Africans to Brazil. He argues that European colonialism, especially Portuguese, was an important driver of this practice, since the expansion of new colonies in America demanded a large amount of slave labor. In this way, the Portuguese Crown stood out as the most active in the exchange of African blacks, transforming them into slaves in Brazil.
The author also analyzes the legislation of the Colony of Brazil in relation to slavery, pointing out the inhuman treatment to which these individuals were subjected, being compared to merchandise according to the Portuguese laws of the time. In addition, the author analyzes the set of laws of the Empire of Brazil referring to the slavery period, highlighting the slavery character of this legislation and the disrespect for laws that, in some way, aimed to protect slaves. This was the case of the law of November 7, 1831, enacted under pressure from the British, which declared all slaves coming from outside the empire to be free, penalizing slave traders. It was also the case of the Eusébio de Queirós law of 1850, which aimed to prevent the slave trade.
“Neither Docile Nor Conformed: Resistances, Revolts and Organization: The Quilombo” is the title of the third chapter, in which the author demonstrates the dissatisfaction of the enslaved with the imposed situation and demystifies peaceful acceptance. It presents several situations in which the struggle for freedom was present in the slave/slave owner relationship. The author states that slaves used different methods: delaying tasks, damaging tools and installations, attacking masters and overseers, burning plantations, rebelling, committing suicide and fleeing individually or collectively. From the escapes, the formation of quilombos became an important form of resistance and organization of black slaves in Brazil. In this chapter, the author also points out the difficulty in conceptualizing quilombos and their remnants.
The fourth chapter, “Remnants of Quilombos: Abolitionism, Complexity, Diversity and Recognition”, focuses on the analysis of the complex relationship between society and the Brazilian State with the remaining communities of quilombos. Even today, factors such as prejudice, “ethnic” and “institutional” racism, omission and lack of knowledge, prevent or make it difficult for this important portion of the Brazilian population to have access to the right to land, fundamental to guarantee physical, social and economic reproduction. cultural.
The author points out that debates that took place in the middle of the 19th century, during the abolitionist movement, are still present in the 21st century. At the time, defenders of slavery based themselves on the Imperial Constitution of 1824, which guaranteed the full right to property, to claim that the abolition of slavery without compensation would be unconstitutional. With this thesis and political and legal influences, interests in perpetuating slavery made it difficult and delayed the abolition of slavery in Brazil.
The author also points out that, in the present century, similar issues prevent the right of quilombo remnants to have their land registered. Law no. 601, of September 18, 1850, popularly known as the “Land Law”, which made official Brazil’s option for the concentration of “latifundio” lands instead of small properties, still impacts the title of the lands of the remaining ones.
The last chapter entitled “Titling of quilombola territories: the legal, the real and the denial of the right” addresses the living conditions of the former slaves after the abolition of slavery on May 13, 1888. The liberation of the slaves left them with no obligations to with their former masters, but also with nowhere to go, no way to feed themselves and no way to acquire land to work, due to the “Land Law” of the Imperial Constitution of 1850.
Agrarian law of 1850 prevented former slaves from accessing land| Imagem: Projeto Monumenta / Agência Senado
The author also presents an assessment of current legislation, including the Constitution of October 5, 1988, Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Transitional Constitutional Provisions Act (ADCT), Federal Decree No. among others, which regulate the titling of quilombola lands. However, according to the author, this complex legal apparatus makes it difficult for the remnants of quilombos to own their lands, due to the lack of efficiency in the drafting of legal provisions, resulting in legal uncertainty.
The book by Paulo Rosa Torres, author of this work, combines the history of slavery with current issues and presents a clear language and a solid theoretical apparatus to address the denial of rights of the remnants of quilombos. Although technical in nature, the book is enjoyable to read and highlights the complexities in demarcating quilombola lands. It also illustrates the structural and institutional racism present in society in relation to descendants of slaves remaining in quilombos.
The book clearly and coherently presents the relationship between objectives and conclusions and offers a complete list of the contributions obtained in the theoretical analyzes and in the textual content. Therefore, it is recommended for scholars of the remaining quilombo communities, slave societies, social actors, as well as for scholars of Law, History, Sociology and History professors who wish to put laws 10639/03 and 11645/08 into practice.
Summary ofRemanescentes de quilombos: escravatura, disputas territoriais e racismo institucional
Prefácio
Apresentação
Introdução
1. Escravatura: origens, naturalização e legitimação
2. A escravização Africana no Brasil. Antecedentes. A legalidade da escravatura brasileira. A escravatura brasileira na ilegalidade
3. Nem dócil nem conformado: resistências, revoltas e organização: o quilombo
4. Remanescentes de quilombos: abolicionismos, complexidade, diversidade e reconhecimento
5. Titulação dos territórios quilombolas: o legal, o real e a negação do direito
Izaque Oliveira Sampaio has a degree in Geography (Uneb), specialist in institutional psychopedagogy (UCB), professor at the Secretaria de Educação do Estado da Bahia, professor at Secretaria Municipal de Bonito-Ba and studying for a master’s degree at Programa de Pós-graduação em Estudos Africanos, Povos Indígenas e Culturas Negras (PPGEAFIN/Uneb). Social media: @isaksampaio; ID LATTES: http://lattes.cnpq.br/7237590998497575 ; ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9609-1837; E-mail: [email protected].
To cite this review
TORRES, Paulo Rosa. Remanescentes de quilombos: escravatura, disputas territoriais e racismo institucional. Belo Horizonte: Dialética, 2021. Epub. Resenha de: SAMPAIO, Izaque Oliveira. Luta pela terra. Crítica Historiográfica. Natal, v.3, n.10, mar./abr., 2023. Disponível em <https://www.criticahistoriografica.com.br/luta-pela-terra-resenha-de-remanescentes-de-quilombos-escravatura-disputas-territoriais-e-racismo-institucional-de-paulo-rosa-torres/> DOI: 10.29327/254374.3.10-3
Fight for the land – Izaque Oliveira Sampaio’s (SEC-BA/Uneb) review of “Remanescentes de quilombos: slavery, territorial disputes and institutional racism”, by Paulo Rosa Torres
04 May 2023
Gilmar Bittencourt, Paulo Rosa Torres, Ana Claudia Gomes Souza e Marcos Cahali Borges de Souza | Imagem: CidadaniaQuilombolas
Abstract: The book covers the history of slavery in Brazil, from its origins to its legalization and the resistance and revolts that followed. It discusses the formation of quilombos, communities of escaped slaves, and their ongoing struggle for recognition and land ownership. The last section focuses on the legal recognition of quilombola territories, the challenges they face, and the denial of their rights.
Keywords: Remnants of Quilombos, Institutional Racism, Territorial Disputes.
Remnants of Quilombos: Slavery, Territorial Disputes and Institutional Racism, published in 2021 by Dialética, is a book written by Paulo Rosa Torres. The work, which results from his doctoral thesis defended at the Catholic University of Salvador (UCSAL) in 2020, aims to discuss the struggle of the remaining quilombo communities for the titling of their traditional territories and the challenges for the realization of this right. By using the deductive method, the author highlights relevant aspects in this conflict, such as diversity, invisibility and the quilombos themselves and remnants of quilombos.
Paulo Rosa Torres is an adjunct professor at the State University of Feira de Santana, where he teaches undergraduate classes in Agrarian, Urban and Civil Law. He holds a master’s degree in Territorial Planning and Social Development from UCSAL (2011) and a PhD in Territorial Planning and Social Development from the same institution (2020). In addition to this book, the author wrote “Land and Territoriality of Pasture Areas in the Semi-Arid Region of Bahia” (2013) and organized “Dystopias and Utopias among the Debris of Our Time” (2020). He acts as a consultant in Rural and Urban Land Law and is the author of articles on rural and urban land issues and Traditional Peoples and Communities. His works indicate a legal action in defense of the social causes of Traditional Peoples and Communities.
The present work is based on theoretical sources of authors such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Christian Delacampagne, Temislav R. Femenick, Olivier Pétré-Grenouilleau, Lilia Schwarcz, Renato Ortiz, Clovis Moura, Flávio Gomes, Décio Freitas, Jacob Gorender, Joaquim Nabuco , João José Reis, Abidias do Nascimento, among others, as well as decrees and laws present in the Brazilian Constitution of 1988.
The work is structured in five chapters and final considerations. In the first chapter, entitled “Slavery: Origins, Naturalization and Legitimation”, the author discusses the history of slavery in different times and spaces to show that the phenomenon is not directly linked to the beginning of humanity, contradicting the idea of its naturalization and legitimation. To this end, he examines references to slavery in Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman and Hebrew societies during Antiquity, comparing them with slavery in the Middle Ages and in the Modern Age. The author concludes that, although some conceive slavery as a natural phenomenon present since human society and prehistory, it emerged together with writing, the State and its forms of control.
In the second chapter, entitled “African Slavery in Brazil: Antecedents, The Legality of Brazilian Slavery, Brazilian Slavery in Illegality”, Torres presents a historical review of the trafficking of Africans to Brazil. He argues that European colonialism, especially Portuguese, was an important driver of this practice, since the expansion of new colonies in America demanded a large amount of slave labor. In this way, the Portuguese Crown stood out as the most active in the exchange of African blacks, transforming them into slaves in Brazil.
The author also analyzes the legislation of the Colony of Brazil in relation to slavery, pointing out the inhuman treatment to which these individuals were subjected, being compared to merchandise according to the Portuguese laws of the time. In addition, the author analyzes the set of laws of the Empire of Brazil referring to the slavery period, highlighting the slavery character of this legislation and the disrespect for laws that, in some way, aimed to protect slaves. This was the case of the law of November 7, 1831, enacted under pressure from the British, which declared all slaves coming from outside the empire to be free, penalizing slave traders. It was also the case of the Eusébio de Queirós law of 1850, which aimed to prevent the slave trade.
“Neither Docile Nor Conformed: Resistances, Revolts and Organization: The Quilombo” is the title of the third chapter, in which the author demonstrates the dissatisfaction of the enslaved with the imposed situation and demystifies peaceful acceptance. It presents several situations in which the struggle for freedom was present in the slave/slave owner relationship. The author states that slaves used different methods: delaying tasks, damaging tools and installations, attacking masters and overseers, burning plantations, rebelling, committing suicide and fleeing individually or collectively. From the escapes, the formation of quilombos became an important form of resistance and organization of black slaves in Brazil. In this chapter, the author also points out the difficulty in conceptualizing quilombos and their remnants.
The fourth chapter, “Remnants of Quilombos: Abolitionism, Complexity, Diversity and Recognition”, focuses on the analysis of the complex relationship between society and the Brazilian State with the remaining communities of quilombos. Even today, factors such as prejudice, “ethnic” and “institutional” racism, omission and lack of knowledge, prevent or make it difficult for this important portion of the Brazilian population to have access to the right to land, fundamental to guarantee physical, social and economic reproduction. cultural.
The author points out that debates that took place in the middle of the 19th century, during the abolitionist movement, are still present in the 21st century. At the time, defenders of slavery based themselves on the Imperial Constitution of 1824, which guaranteed the full right to property, to claim that the abolition of slavery without compensation would be unconstitutional. With this thesis and political and legal influences, interests in perpetuating slavery made it difficult and delayed the abolition of slavery in Brazil.
The author also points out that, in the present century, similar issues prevent the right of quilombo remnants to have their land registered. Law no. 601, of September 18, 1850, popularly known as the “Land Law”, which made official Brazil’s option for the concentration of “latifundio” lands instead of small properties, still impacts the title of the lands of the remaining ones.
The last chapter entitled “Titling of quilombola territories: the legal, the real and the denial of the right” addresses the living conditions of the former slaves after the abolition of slavery on May 13, 1888. The liberation of the slaves left them with no obligations to with their former masters, but also with nowhere to go, no way to feed themselves and no way to acquire land to work, due to the “Land Law” of the Imperial Constitution of 1850.
Agrarian law of 1850 prevented former slaves from accessing land| Imagem: Projeto Monumenta / Agência Senado
The author also presents an assessment of current legislation, including the Constitution of October 5, 1988, Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Transitional Constitutional Provisions Act (ADCT), Federal Decree No. among others, which regulate the titling of quilombola lands. However, according to the author, this complex legal apparatus makes it difficult for the remnants of quilombos to own their lands, due to the lack of efficiency in the drafting of legal provisions, resulting in legal uncertainty.
The book by Paulo Rosa Torres, author of this work, combines the history of slavery with current issues and presents a clear language and a solid theoretical apparatus to address the denial of rights of the remnants of quilombos. Although technical in nature, the book is enjoyable to read and highlights the complexities in demarcating quilombola lands. It also illustrates the structural and institutional racism present in society in relation to descendants of slaves remaining in quilombos.
The book clearly and coherently presents the relationship between objectives and conclusions and offers a complete list of the contributions obtained in the theoretical analyzes and in the textual content. Therefore, it is recommended for scholars of the remaining quilombo communities, slave societies, social actors, as well as for scholars of Law, History, Sociology and History professors who wish to put laws 10639/03 and 11645/08 into practice.
Summary ofRemanescentes de quilombos: escravatura, disputas territoriais e racismo institucional
Prefácio
Apresentação
Introdução
1. Escravatura: origens, naturalização e legitimação
2. A escravização Africana no Brasil. Antecedentes. A legalidade da escravatura brasileira. A escravatura brasileira na ilegalidade
3. Nem dócil nem conformado: resistências, revoltas e organização: o quilombo
4. Remanescentes de quilombos: abolicionismos, complexidade, diversidade e reconhecimento
5. Titulação dos territórios quilombolas: o legal, o real e a negação do direito
Izaque Oliveira Sampaio has a degree in Geography (Uneb), specialist in institutional psychopedagogy (UCB), professor at the Secretaria de Educação do Estado da Bahia, professor at Secretaria Municipal de Bonito-Ba and studying for a master’s degree at Programa de Pós-graduação em Estudos Africanos, Povos Indígenas e Culturas Negras (PPGEAFIN/Uneb). Social media: @isaksampaio; ID LATTES: http://lattes.cnpq.br/7237590998497575 ; ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9609-1837; E-mail: [email protected].
To cite this review
TORRES, Paulo Rosa. Remanescentes de quilombos: escravatura, disputas territoriais e racismo institucional. Belo Horizonte: Dialética, 2021. Epub. Resenha de: SAMPAIO, Izaque Oliveira. Luta pela terra. Crítica Historiográfica. Natal, v.3, n.10, mar./abr., 2023. Disponível em <https://www.criticahistoriografica.com.br/luta-pela-terra-resenha-de-remanescentes-de-quilombos-escravatura-disputas-territoriais-e-racismo-institucional-de-paulo-rosa-torres/> DOI: 10.29327/254374.3.10-3
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Izaque Oliveira Sampaio has a degree in Geography (Uneb), specialist in institutional psychopedagogy (UCB), professor at the Secretaria de Educação do Estado da Bahia, professor at Secretaria Municipal de Bonito-Ba and studying for a master’s degree at Programa de Pós-graduação em Estudos Africanos, Povos Indígenas e Culturas Negras (PPGEAFIN/Uneb). Social media: @isaksampaio; ID LATTES: http://lattes.cnpq.br/7237590998497575 ; ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9609-1837; E-mail: [email protected].
