Weaving the Anticolonialism: The Origins of Quilombo Cafundá Astrogilda
Weaving the Anticolonialism: The Origins of Quilombo Cafundá Astrogilda
Wednesday, 9 July 2025: 13:00
Location: FSE008 (Faculty of Education Sciences (FSE))
Oral Presentation
The aim of this article is to conduct a historical analysis of the experiences of a Black and Mestizo peasant community situated in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, which was subsequently designated as Quilombo Cafundá Astrogilda. This article examines the impact of European colonialism on the Global South. In this context, the article addresses the struggle for land in Brazil following the abolition of slavery. It can be hypothesised that the economic subsistence strategies developed by the community members constituted an obstacle to the political and economic proposals put forth by intellectuals, politicians and members of the Brazilian state. Moreover, these strategies presented a challenge to the political project of restructuring national production, which commenced immediately following the abolition of slavery.
Speculative property capital and the Brazilian state sought to modernise the region in which the community is located. The two plans had a common objective, namely the commercialisation of land that had traditionally belonged to the local peasantry, who had developed new ways of living, working and producing. It can thus be seen that the colonial dimension of state power is manifested in economic domination. The social and cultural structure of the community constituted an obstacle to the process of civilisation and modernisation of the peripheries and rural areas of Brazil. This represented a direct challenge to the legacy of colonialism, which had been significantly reshaped by the forces of capitalist development.
The following section will present the political strategies employed by community members in order to combat the colonial projects directed at their territory. Furthermore, this article will examine the sociological aspects that anticipated the social and political organisation of the peasant community, and will also shed light on its transformation into a quilombola territory as a central element of the anti-colonial struggle.
Speculative property capital and the Brazilian state sought to modernise the region in which the community is located. The two plans had a common objective, namely the commercialisation of land that had traditionally belonged to the local peasantry, who had developed new ways of living, working and producing. It can thus be seen that the colonial dimension of state power is manifested in economic domination. The social and cultural structure of the community constituted an obstacle to the process of civilisation and modernisation of the peripheries and rural areas of Brazil. This represented a direct challenge to the legacy of colonialism, which had been significantly reshaped by the forces of capitalist development.
The following section will present the political strategies employed by community members in order to combat the colonial projects directed at their territory. Furthermore, this article will examine the sociological aspects that anticipated the social and political organisation of the peasant community, and will also shed light on its transformation into a quilombola territory as a central element of the anti-colonial struggle.