Indians in the Curriculum:
20 Handouts for Middle and High School
History and Social Studies
By Kerry Dunne

Handout 2 Activities: The Republic of Palmares

Background:

By William Loren Katz in Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, p. 127, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson, 2nd edition, Rethinking Schools, www.rethinkingschools.org, Milwaukee, 1998, 189 pp.This article will be of particular interest in Framingham, Massachusetts where many people are of Brazilian ancestry. However, maroon groups of escaped slaves, sailors, and natives founded successful communities throughout the Americas. The movie, “The Patriot,” is set near one such maroon settlement in South Carolina.

Study and Discuss:

Who lived in the Palmares of Brazil? What races were represented?

1.     Describe the society there.

2.     Why do you think Portugal tried to destroy this settlement?

3.     Why was their resistance a sign of things to come?

4.     Why, historically, has there been so much cooperation and mixing between Native Americans and blacks?

Resources 2: The Republic of Palmares