In the early 17th century an autonomous, self-sufficient community of escaped slaves (maroons) known as Palmares established itself in the Captaincy of Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil. It grew considerably throughout the 17th century, eventually becoming the largest settlement ever founded by runaway slaves in Brazil. Most of the information about this community comes from Portuguese and Dutch colonists and many of the names of those involved are unknown. At its apex, the population of Palmares reached somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000. The Palmaristas constantly resisted Portuguese and Dutch attacks while at the same time carrying out their own raids on the colonists. In the 1500s nearly half of all those enslaved from Africa were transported to Brazil, which was governed by the Portuguese at the time. Their settlements, called mocambos or quilombos, were constructed in the land’s interior, although the later is a modern term. At its height in the 1660s, Quilombo of Palmares was a confederation with a central capital and associated fortified towns and villages.…
Bartholomew Roberts
“In an honest service there is thin commons, low wages, and hard labour. In this, plenty and satiety, pleasure and ease, liberty and power; and who would not balance creditor on this side, when all the hazard that is run for it, at worst is only a sour look or two at choking? No, a merry life and a short one shall be my motto.”
A General History of the Pyrates (1724)
Active between 1719 and 1722, Bartholomew Roberts is viewed as being one of the most successful pirates, when judged by the amount of vessels captured. It is thought he took as many as 470 vessels, albeit the half of them being fishing boats. Born with the Christian name John, it is unsure why he took the name Bartholomew. Some say he adopted the name in reference to the legendary buccaneer Bartholomew Sharp, others say in order to hide his true identity.…
The Glorious Revolution of 1688
The ‘Glorious Revolution’, or de Glorieuze Overtocht in Dutch, is often called the Bloodless Revolution as there was very little bloodshed in England itself, although in Ireland it was a particularly bloody affair. Most ordinary people weren’t directly affected by the invasion as they had been during the Civil Wars (1642-52). In his book The King Over the Water, Desmond Steward said of it: “The events of 1688 were not so much a revolution as an aristocratic coup d’etat that ended in a one party state …” The events of 1688 were probably more significant politically for England than the Civil Wars as there were very few real changes to the system after the latter. Although William was invited to take the throne by some notable English figures, his arrival on British shores is still viewed by many as an invasion of England by the Dutch to remove a potential ally of Louis XIV of France.…