Sugar in the 1600s is like oil will be in the 1900s: a vital, expensive, and rare commodity. Dutch forces invade the provincial capital of Recife, capturing the world center of sugar production from the Portuguese. Enslaved Africans use the ensuing chaos to escape, and the population of runaways living in the hinterland grows. These communities are called quilombos-the African Bantu word for war camp. Palmares is the largest of these quilombos with a population growing to more than 30,000 African men and women living free and independent in the Americas for the first time. ***1654After years of skirmishes, battles, and open war, Portuguese forces retake the region and its capital Recife. Now it is time to turn their attention to capturing the Africans back into slavery. After twenty-four years in Palmares, a new generation of Black men and women is being born and raised in freedom.In this debut novel indie author Erick Maia retells the story of its greatest leader: Zumbi dos Palmares.