The word “quilombo”, which has its
roots in several West African languages, including what is now Congo and
Angola, translates roughly as “encampment.” During pre-slavery times, it
denoted settlements of runaway slaves in Brazil. Another term for the same type
of community is “mocambo.” The creation of such communities was not unique to
Brazil, but rather they occurred virtually every place in the New World in
which slaves were imported from Africa. The word is also used for settlements
organized by inhabitants of abandoned plantations who maintain traditional
lifestyles.

Among the French, Dutch and British colonies the term “maroon”(“wild”) is used to refer to runaway slaves or descendent of their s who maintain such an identity, while in Spanish-speaking area the word “Palenque” (“palisade”) refers to such settlement, as they were often (“wild”) is used to refer to runaway slaves or descendent who maintain such an identity, while in Spanish-speaking…