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This Brazilian film was made in 1963 but was not released until 1972 because there was a military coup in Brazil in 1963, and films about revolutions, even those taking place in the 17th century, were considered politically dangerous. Farming huge plantations using Native and African slave labor was the economic backbone of Brazil in its early years. Even today, large estates are farmed for their owners by peasant tenant farmers. From the beginning of European involvement until today, there have been innumerable slave and peasant revolts. Usually they were short-lived, brutally suppressed affairs. This film recounts the story of one revolt, in 1641, in which the slaves formed their own nation or "quilombo" and ran it for over 50 years.