Aka That one time Bahia almost became an Islamic Caliphate
In Salvador in 1835, 4 out of 10 of the 65k inhabitants were slaves.
Forbidden of expressing their culture and forced to convert to catholicism, while subject to the abuse of their owners and very harsh punishments, there was a general hatred in Brazilian society between Slaves and Free men.
Many of those slaves where called Malês. This caste of slaves consisted majorly of Muslim first generation slaves of majorly Nagô and Hausa ethnicity, originating from western Africa. Being islamized (the world Malê is Ioruba for ‘Muslim”), these slaves were often literated, poliglot and cult, being more expensive than illiterate slaves and often used as secretaries (Sometimes, the owner of Malê couldn’t read himself). The owners also benefitted from their math knowledge, designating malês to the administration of small businesses.
The life of a Malê was arguably easier than the life of an illiterate slave, however they were still forbidden to practice islam, being forced to accept catholicism. Being more organized and united, the Malês begun preparing a revolution.
Benefitting from their access to the papers of City administrators, the Malês planned to strike at strategic locations, they would take advantage of the changing of the guard schedule to take over the forts at Vitória and Água de Meninos. Taken the forts, they would march to the governor’s house where they would kill him and his family and declare a Muslim Monarchy in Bahia, imprisioning the White slave owners and confiscating their property. Non-muslim africans would remain as slaves.
Nobody suspected of the Malê’s plans, especially because they wrote the messages and details in arabic. Their plan was so perfect that it only failed because of a last-minute denounce, and the Imperial forces acted quickly to repress the rebellion.
7 soldiers and 70 rebels perished in the battle. Out of originally 1500 rebels, 200 were arrested, being later condemned to forced labor, scourging or sent to Angola. The leaders were all executed
Nobody knows who denounced the Malê revolt. A register of the time that defines the rat as merely “a woman” has been credited in history books for centuries but modern historians believe it was probably someone within the organization.
The Muslim culture faced a huge decline after the Malê revolt was repressed. The Brazilian government forbade Islam and the tradition practically disappeared. Nowadays there are only around 200 muslims in Bahia. However many Nago and Hausa cultural traits are still strong in Bahian culture.
The iconc white clothes worn by afoxés have it’s origin in the muslim culture. Capoeira was also largely used by Malês. The word Abadá, today referring to the clothes worn in Carnaval, originally designated the Muslim attire.
Some say that if the Malês had kept existing, the social gap between White and Black brazilians wouldn’t be so large nowadays. While this is true, Modern Historians remark that the fate of a muslim state in South America would probably be close to the one of Haiti: Not supported by any major powers, the slave government and it’s economy would soon collapse.
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