History of Capoeira

As in the United States, slavery existed also in Brazil. The slaves were put to work in the plantations where sugar and tobacco were the main crops and the demand for slave labor was at an all-time high. During the history of the slave trade, it is estimated that more than two million slaves were brought to Brazil from Africa. They were brought to the port of Bahia. These captive Africans created the earliest form of Capoeira, a martial art, to increase their chances for liberty and independence. On the pretence of dance and religious gatherings, they practiced fighting techniques. Capoeira became an art form through which many liberated themselves.In Pernambuco, a group of forty slaves used Capoeira to rebel against their master and burn the plantation house. They then set themselves free and headed for the mountains. Eventually they reached what they thought was a safe place and named it Palmares, due to the abundance of palm trees. In this place, an African community was born, it lasted nearly a century and grew to a population of more than twenty thousand. These slaves came from different regions of Africa and thus had different cultures. Here, tribes that were enemies in Africa, united to fight for a common goal. After slavery was abolished on May 13, 1888, the planters no longer had interest in the ex-slaves as a work force, so most of them entered the cities and formed slums and shantytowns. There was no employment.

Many became criminals and used their knowledge of Capoeira on their victims. Eventually, a rigid penal code was initiated stating that any person who was a known capoeirista (anyone who practices the art) would be banished. The law that prohibited the practice of Capoeira was still in effect until 1920, and its practice disguised as a "folk dance." In their hidden places, capoeiristas did their best to keep the tradition alive, and by presenting it as a folk art, they made Capoeira more acceptable in society. In those years it was very common for a capoeirista to have two or three nicknames. The police knew all of them by these names and not by their real identity, so it made it much more difficult to arrest them. This tradition has endured and is still practiced in academies today. When a person is "baptized" into the practice of Capoeira, they are given a nickname. In 1937 Mestre Bimba, one of the most renown masters of Capoeira, received an invitation from the president to demonstrate his art in the nation's capital. After a successful performance, he went back to his home state of Bahia and, with the government's permission, opened the first Capoeira academy in Brazil. It was the first step towards a more open development. Years later, the senate passed a bill establishing Capoeira as a national sport. Today, Capoeira can be seen and learned all around the world.