A quilombo (from a Kimbundu word) is a hinterland settlement originally created by runaway slaves in Brazil and sometimes included a minority of marginalised Portuguese and other non-black, non-slave Brazilians. Some of these settlements were quite near Portuguese settlements and quite active both in defending against capitães do mato commissioned to recapture slaves and in facilitating the escape of even more slaves, and thus were actively fought by the Portuguese and, later, by the Brazilian state and slaveowners. Although, quilombos that were further from the Portuguese settlements and the later Brazilian cities were effectively tolerated and still exist, to the point of having their own African-Portuguese Creole languages.
The most famous of the quilombos was Palmares, an independent, self-sustaining republic near Recife. At its height, Palmares had a population of over 30,000 renegade blacks led by the legendary warrior [[Zumbi].
In American Spanish, the word has taken the meanings of "brothel", "mess" and "boondocks".
See also
palenque - the equivalent settlements in Spanish America
