Mazombos

views updated

Mazombos

Mazombos, descendants of settlers from Portugal. These white Brazilians of the colonial period were similar to the criollos of New Spain, but they were more likely to have nonwhite ancestors. Their high social position was linked to elite family membership, proprietorship of vast estates (fazendas or engenhos) with hundreds of slaves, political posts on the Senado da Câmara, appointment as high-ranking officers in the white militias, or service on the boards of elite white brotherhoods (irmandades) of the Catholic Church. In spite of their wealth, the Portuguese crown and the Reinóis limited their role in colonial society, which eventually led to demands for independence from the mother country.

See alsoSenado da Câmara .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Vianna Moog, Bandeirantes and Pioneers (1964).

Additional Bibliography

Mello, Evaldo Cabral de. A fronda dos mazombos: Nobres contra mascates, Pernambuco, 1666–1715. São Paulo: Editora 34, 2003.

                                       Sheila L. Hooker