Symbol of resistance in Salvador
At Praça da Sé in Pelourinho there is a monument to one of the most important men and symbol of resistance and the fight against slavery: Zumbi dos Palmares. He was born in 1655 in Palmares, Alagoas state. As a child he was kidnapped and given to a priest who named him Francisco and taught him Portuguese and Latin. At the age of 15, he fled to Quilombo dos Palmares, where, with great skill in martial arts, he began his history of resistance and struggle for the freedom of black people, not only from Quilombo dos Palmares, but from all of Brazil. He was betrayed by one of his companions and handed over to his enemies. On November 20, 1695, he died with his throat cut and his head exposed in a public square.
The date of his death was adopted as Black Awareness Day. Today he receives several demonstrations for his action, one of which is this monument on May 30, 2008, where it says: “Zumbi dos Palmares, leader of the country's first democratic experience”.