Purported Slave Revolt quashed in Minas Gerais

In 1756, an alleged slave conspiracy caused much concern among the colonial elite in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Reportedly, runaway slaves living in the quilombo Campo Grande had plotted a rebellion that never actually took place.
One of the most important quilombos in colonial Brazil was Campo Grande, which consisted of some twenty-five different settlements. By the 1750s, its population had surpassed 20,000. This quilombo was also significant because it seems that in addition to runaway slaves, many of the original inhabitants were free blacks and mulatoes and poor whites.
In 1756, the inhabitants of Campo Grande purportedly planned a rebellion, in which they would join with slaves against the European colonists in Minas Gerais. According to rumors at the time, the Africans were planning to attack on holy Thursday while the white Brazilians attended church services. Reportedly, they would kill all of the white and mulatto men, while sparing the women. The plot never came to fruition, perhaps because it was discovered before it began, although there is no real evidence that the plot was genuine. This incident is important, however, in that it demonstrates the extent to which white Brazilians feared runaway black communities. (Ronald Young)