Maria Martins de Carvalho

A Brazilian abolitionist and leader of the 1835 Maceió Uprising against Portuguese colonial oppression

Maria Martins de Carvalho (1810–1835) was a Black Brazilian woman who became a pivotal figure in the fight against slavery and colonialism during the 19th century. Born into a family of enslaved people in Maceió, Alagoas, she gained early awareness of systemic oppression through her mother's stories about African resistance traditions. By her teenage years, Maria had become fluent in multiple languages including Portuguese, Yoruba, and indigenous Tupi-Guarani dialects, which positioned her as a key communicator among diverse communities.

In 1835, Maria organized the historic Maceió Uprising - Brazil's largest urban slave revolt - which involved over 1,500 enslaved individuals and free people of color. Using her strategic brilliance, she coordinated simultaneous attacks across the city targeting key colonial institutions. Though ultimately suppressed by Portuguese forces, the revolt marked a turning point in Brazil's abolitionist movement, prompting the monarchy to accelerate emancipation policies. Historians now recognize this event as Brazil's first organized urban rebellion against slavery, documented in works like "Revolução de Maceió 1835: Abolition and the Struggle for Freedom".

Her legacy endures through modern-day monuments like the Maria Martins de Carvalho Cultural Center in Maceió, and her story is preserved in the National Archive of Brazilian History's digital collection here. Recent scholarship has highlighted her use of coded communication networks involving quilombola communities, as detailed in "Networks of Resistance in 19th Century Brazil".