Dandara Dos Palmares was heavy duty tough work NO JOKE. An afro-Brazilian warrior who knew serious Capoeira, she could fight with her bare hands or with weapons. She was fueled by dismantling slavery. Along with her husband Zumbi, Dandera defended the colonial Brazilian Maroon community (quilombo) of Palmares from Portuguese incursions. Quilombo, in colonial Brazil, is a community organized by “fugitive” slaves. Quilombos were located in inaccessible areas and usually consisted of fewer than 100 people who survived by farming and raiding. Palmares became economically self-sufficient by diversifying agricultural production. Colonial authorities perceived this self-sufficiency to be a threat to the system of slavery in Brazil and sought to either resettle or eliminate the maroons. The quilombo resisted incursions from both the Dutch and the Portuguese to survive for nearly a century. In 1678, Ganga Zuma accepted a peace treaty offered by the Portuguese Governor of Pernambuco, which required that the inhabitants of Palmares relocated to the Cucaú Valley. It also stated that people of Palmares who had been arrested were to be released and those born in Palmares were granted permission to be free granted permission to engage in commerce. But in exchange, the people of Palmares had to stop giving refuge to any new runaway slaves and must turn them over to the Portuguese authorities. Dandara and her husband are said to have opposed the deal because it did not end slavery, and in fact made Palmares complicit in its perpetuation. Ganga-Zumba was killed by one of the Palmarinos who opposed his proposal, possibly his nephew, Dandera’s husband, Zumbi. Dandera was cornered or captured in 1694, but she killed herself, preferring suicide to a return to enslavement. Peace! To her powerful legacy and the rebellious people of Palmeres.