Cosme Bento

Cosme Bento das Chagas (between 1800 and 1802 – September 1842), also known as Negro Cosme, was the Black Brazilian leader of a settlement of runaway enslaved people, known as a quilombo. In 1830, having already been freed from slavery, was imprisoned in São Luís, in Maranhão, for having murdered Francisco Raimundo Ribeiro. He escaped prison and, after a period where there is little historical record of him, became a leader of a quilombo.

In December 1838, the movement, known as the Balaiada, broke out of Maranhão due the invasion of the jail in the village of Manga by Raimundo Gomes. With the rebellion repressed by Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, the resistance would only be maintained with the military support given by Cosme Bento and the more than 3,000 people he commanded. Cosme adopted the title of "Dom Cosme Bento das Chagas, Tutor e Imperador da Liberdade Bem-Te-Vi" and established on the Tocanguira plantation, in Lagoa Amarela, the largest quilombo in Maranhão's history.

Background With the end of the first reign of the Empire of Brazil and the beginning of the regency period, much of the country had various rebellions, riots, and agitations against the established order. Due to the political and economic instability, this period came to be known as one of the most turbulent in the country's history.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the state of Maranhão had approximately 200,000 people, of which more than half were enslaved people that were forced to work on cotton plantations. The living conditions of the state were extremely poor, and the economic and governmental levers were largely controlled by large-scale land owners and merchants.

During this time period, the state, which was one of the largest exporters of cotton, went through a grave economic crisis due to competition with the United States. The livestock industry, which had a strong connection with salaries with its export, along with financing the slave trade in the state, began to collapse. Such a political scenario, a dispute of power began to rise among the elite, that was seen all throughout the state between liberals (bem-te-vis) and by conservatives (cabanos).

The instability in Maranhão was also the product of the larger population living in poverty. Adding to this, the political reaction was repressive in nature each time, by way of violence and arbitrary arrests. The cause of the revolt, then, primarily was due to the imprisonment of vaqueiro Raimundo Gomes' brother, also known as Cara Preta, after an accusation made by the vice-mayor of Vila da Manga, José Egito, a conservative. On 13 December 1838, Raimundo Gomes, with nine other men, invaded the public prison and freed him, reinforcing his group with freed prisoners and 22 soldiers in charge of local policing operations.

Gomes received the support of Lívio Pedro Moura, Mulungueta, and Manuel Francisco dos Anjos Ferreira, also known as Manuel Balaio, of which his nickname became the name of the larger movement. Later on, they would be joined by Cosme Bento, a former enslaved person who led a quilombo of 3000 African enslaved people who fled the plantations.

With his fame spreading throughout Itapecuru Mirim and the quilombos of the region, Cosme remained a fugitive until 1838, when he was seen and captured in Codó. To that end, he developed an internal hierarchy in the quilombo with the intent of empowering the population, as well as teaching them to read and write, which at that time was a privileged that was only reserved for the children of rich landowners in the provinces. The project should not be confused with the general approach of those dubbed the bem-te-vis, which sought to retake power in Maranhão.

With respect to the Balaiada, from 1838 onward, the conflict had various leaders, each of whom with groups that varied in size. However, these groups had unified at points in order to wage a battle of great proportion, but at other times dispersed. The combat strategy was to create a fractured movement, with successful and uninterrupted uprisings. Among the rebels there were vaqueiros, ex-police, enslaved people, and farmers. Among the most well-known leaders were Raimundo Gomes (Cara Preta), Manuel Francisco dos Anjos Ferreira (Balaio), and Cosme Bento (Negro Cosme). At their strongest point, the rebellion expanded and, after nearing and taking the city of Caxias, started to head towards Piauí.

Downfall and final moments Two years after the start of the revolt, between February and September 1840, with his power and military apparatus, colonel Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, the future Duke of Caxias, had practically defeated all the rebels led by Raimundo Gomes. They then took refuge with the fugitive slaves led by Cosme Bento, who came to be the principal commander of the movement. The "Tutor and Emperor of Freedom" was who the local plantation owners feared most, due to his advancing armies and creating strong incentives in the region to rebel.

However, their strength progressively diminished, mainly after August 1840, when Dom Pedro II rose to power and declared amnesty to the rebels. Many of the rebels proceeded to surrender as concession. The last to capitulate were the Black rebels. In Cosme Bento's group, just 200 enslaved people remained and continued to fight the troops of the future Duke de Caxias.

Cosme Bento was more than just a leader among the balaios. Even as he became a member of and collaborated with the rebellion, he could be also considered the leader of a revolt by the Black people of Maranhão, to preserve and fight for, above all, equality and for the basic rights of Black people in the state. One such example is the Center of Black Culture of Maranhão (CCN-MA), which has the text "traz o texto "The epic of the Balaios warriors, in the version of the oppressed", by Magno José Cruz, in cordel style. The following is an excerpt:

Like with the leaders and participants of the Búzios Revolt in Salvador in 1798, and other such insurgents, Cosme Bento had been hanged in public to make an example out of him to other enslaved Black people. The state of Maranhão, however, already had a strong tradition of quilombos, where these settlements had enabled Black people to continue resisting slavery.

Negro Cosme was sentenced for leading, to enslavers, one of the most feared insurrections by enslaved peoples in Brazil.

Tributes The memory of the Balaiada and its leaders gained new significance with the passing of time, influencing national history and the development of a regional culture. Many tributes and projects refer to Cosme Bento and his achievements. It's possible to identify the reinvention of the tradition of the balaio leader in political, religious, and institutional spaces, mainly seen during the large resistance movement again oppression and the dictatorship of the time. It is also worthwhile to mention that Negro Cosme was the founder of the first school of a democratic nature in Maranhão, where he took advantage of the moment to create topics about militancy among the quilombolas.

Samba schools during Carnaval also explored the history of Maranhão with the samba-enredo "Os papagaios amarelos nas Terras encantadas do Maranhão", by the Acadêmicos do Grande Rio samba school in 2002. Written by Alailson Cruz and Agenor Neto, and with the parade led by Joãosinho Trinta, the song recounts Cosme Bento as a great hero of the people: