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[English Version] (ca.1655 Palmares – 12.11.1695 ebd.), afrikanisch-brasilianischer Freiheitskämpfer. Über Z. gibt es nur ein zeitgenössisches Dokument. Legenden zufolge wurde er in einem freien Dorf geboren, das zum Quilombo (freie afrikanische Siedlung) Palmares gehört, gelegen im heutigen Teilstaat Alagoas. Er wurde von einem kath. Priester aufgenommen, auf den Namen Francisco getauft und lernte Port. und Lat. 1670 floh er zurück in sein Dorf, um es gegen die Soldaten aus Pernambuco (1675–1678)…

[English Version] (Roma˜o Baptista; 24.3.1844 Crato – 20.7.1934 Juazeiro), brasilianischer Priester. P. wuchs nach dem frühen Tod seiner Eltern im trockenen serta˜o des Teilstaats Ceara´ bei frommen Tanten auf, die ihn in das Seminar in der Hauptstadt Fortaleza schickten. Mit 26 Jahren wurde er zum Priester geweiht und in seiner Heimat als Kaplan in Juazeiro eingesetzt, als der er sieben Sklaven zu Diensten bekam. In einem Traum entsandte ihn Jesus zu den Armen; daraufhin befreite er seine Sklaven…

[German Version] The Cabanagem uprising, begun in 1832 and bloodily put down in 1849, was a revolt of local caboclos (catechumens) of Indian and African descent against the Portuguese colonial regime, which ruled the entire lower Amazon (Brazil). In the 17th and early 18th centuries, Jesuits and other missionaries had sought to impose a uniform Catholic Indian culture on the diverse peoples of Amazonia and therefore had established Nheengatu or Tupí as the lingua franca. When the missionaries were expelled in 1759, the disastrous results of these policies b…

[German Version] includes significant portions of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela. It is not geographically homogeneous but comprises two ecosystems. The first, upland that is never flooded ( terra firme), constitutes 98% of the area of Amazonia. The second, better known, is lowland, the so-called várzea; it consists of alluvial riverbeds and channels, igarapés, and smaller watercourses. Even today this complex network of waterways is – apart from the airplane – practically the only means of access to “historical” Amazonia. In some places the várzea is very narrow…

[German Version] (José António Pereira; Aug 5, 1806, Sobral, Brazil – Feb 19, 1883, Paraíba, Brazil). From 1834 to 1837 Ibiapina was a representative of the people. He was ordained priest at age 47 and then became vicar-general of the diocese of Olinda, Brazil, for two years. From 1855 on, he traveled for 28 years, mostly on foot, through the present-day federal states of Pianí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco. As “apostle of the Northeast” he embodied the authorities in one person as pastoral counselor, judge, engineer ¶ and organizer. He brought people together to…

[German Version] (Romão Baptista; Mar 24, 1844, Crato – Jul 20, 1934, Juazeiro), Brazilian priest. After his parents’ early death, he was brought up in the dry sertão of the province of Ceará by pious aunts, who sent him to the seminary in the provincial capital of Fortaleza. At the age of 26 he was ordained priest and installed as chaplain in his home region, in Juazeiro, where he was given seven slaves to serve him. In a dream Jesus sent him to the poor. He thereupon freed his slaves and administered the sacraments with…

[German Version] Christian texts such as 1 Pet 2:18–20, 1 Tim 6:1, and Tit 2:9–10 contain references to slaves who escaped their masters in order to serve God. From the 4th century, there were complaints that monasteries accepted escaped slaves. In the course of history, they were designated by various terms, including, among others, “beatus,” usually in refer…

[German Version] (Apr 9, 1654, Trutnov [Ger. Trautenau], Bohemia – Mar 28, 1725), missionary in the Amazon who entered the Jesuit order (Jesuits) as a 19-year-old. In 1684, he was sent by the Mission of Spanish Obedience to Quito. Two years later, he traveled Amazonia, where, in the course of the next 37 years, he organized missions among the Omagua and Yurimagua Indians. Fritz is credited with the establishment of 38 settlements ( aldeias), including what are now the Brazilian cities of Olivença and Tefé. His diary contains very precise descriptions of the Amazon re…

[German Version] (c. 1655, Palmares – Nov 12, 1695, Palmares), Afro-Brazilian freedom fighter. There is only one contemporary document about Zumbi. According to legend, he was born in a free village in the quilombo (African refugee settlement) of Palmares, located in the present-day state of Alagoas. He was taken in by a Catholic priest, baptized with the name Francisco, and taught Portuguese and Latin. In 1670 he fled back to his village to defend it against soldiers from Pernambuco (1675–1678). From then on he was called Zumb…