Quilombolas do Lago de Serpa: historiografia silenciada e trajetórias de sobrevivência

Abstract

This study proposes a historiographical, social, and economic analysis of the Sagrado Coração de Jesus *Quilombola* community, located in the Lago de Serpa region of Itacoatiara, Amazonas. It examines how this community devised strategies for resistance, socioeconomic re-signification, and identity preservation in the face of historical transformations, environmental restrictions affecting their primary traditional activity, and the challenges of contemporary modernity. The research aims to investigate the processes of historiographical silencing and the survival trajectories of the Lago de Serpa *Quilombola* community. To address the historical, social, and economic complexities involved, the study adopts a qualitative approach that is both descriptive and exploratory. The analysis begins by highlighting studies confirming the presence of enslaved Black people in the Amazon region during the colonial period and the processes that rendered them invisible in official historiography. The research further covers the historiography, territorial occupation, economic development trajectories, and official recognition of the Lago de Serpa *Quilombo* community; this analysis spans the period from the mid-19th century—marked by the arrival of "free Africans" at the Serpa Industrial Colony—to contemporary challenges. Research findings indicate that the Black presence in the Amazon is not an anomaly but a structural element of the region's socioeconomic formation. Documentary tracing—covering the period from the mid-19th century through the Serpa Industrial Colony and records of "free Africans"—has substantiated the ancestry and historical agency of these individuals, countering official narratives that had rendered them invisible. The study places significant emphasis on the local economy, highlighting the primary means of livelihood from the community's arrival at Lago de Serpa to the present day. Particular note is given to artisanal charcoal production, which served as the main source of survival for the community's families for over six decades. Although it is no longer the primary economic activity, charcoal production is treated as a traditional economic practice, alongside agriculture, extractive activities, and fishing. Throughout this economic evolution, the *quilombolas* of Lago Serpa have redefined their modes of survival following the 1998 ban on charcoal production. Traditional economic activities have been supplemented by other means of subsistence, such as handicrafts, the production of fruit pulp and vegetables, and participation in both formal and informal labor markets. The transformation of *quilombola* identity among new generations involves the need to preserve ancestral knowledge; in a contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and formal education, young people in the *quilombo* face the challenge of reconciling their traditions and identity with the modern world. In this context, public policies play a crucial role in the struggle to maintain the identity of the Lago de Serpa *quilombo*. More than mere administrative tools, they serve as mechanisms for historical justice, territorial protection, sustainability, and cultural strengthening.