The 1835 Malê Revolt: Brazil's Muslim Slave Uprising

The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History · Aug 1, 2026 · 9m · transcript

In January 1835, a group of enslaved Africans in Salvador, Bahia, rose up in the largest urban slave revolt in Brazil's history. Many were Malê—Muslims from the Hausa and Yoruba regions—who carried amulets with Quranic verses and coordinated their attack across the city. This episode unpacks the revolt's planning, its brutal suppression, and the surprising legal records that survive today. We look at the wider context of Bahia's Atlantic world, where free and enslaved Muslims navigated a society that tolerated their religion but feared their literacy. We also trace the…