domingos_alexandre

Angolan abolitionist who led resistance against Portuguese colonial slavery

Domingos Alexandre (1830-1890) was an Angolan freedom fighter who organized rebellions against Portuguese slave traders. Born into slavery in Benguela, he escaped to the highlands where he gathered over 500 escaped slaves to form the "António da Costa" resistance group. His 1860s campaigns attacked plantations and liberated thousands, using guerrilla tactics that inspired later movements. Captured in 1873, his trial revealed systemic abuses in the Angolan colony. Though executed, his writings smuggled out became foundational texts for anti-colonial thought. The Angolan Ministry of Culture now preserves his letters, and a 2019 documentary Freedom's Price explored his legacy. His name appears in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register for documents exposing colonial violence. Streets in Luanda and Lisbon bear his name, commemorating his role in weakening the Atlantic slave system before abolition in 1878.