Clearly Xica’s effect upon Fernandes was considerable, as she was soon formally freed and lived as Fernandes’ extremely well-kept, yet unofficial wife for 15 years, bearing 13 children along the way. After changing hands between several different slave owners (and bearing a handful of children along the way), Xica ultimately became the property of a fabulously wealthy diamond mine owner named João Fernandes da Oliveira. So who exactly was Xica da Silva that she defied all odds to achieve a status otherwise reserved exclusively for European settlers and their children? The historical record has provided us with a few irrefutable facts: She was born Francisca da Silva da Oliveira in the region of Minas Gerais in 1732, the mixed-race daughter of a Portuguese settler named Antonio Caetano de Sá and his African-born slave María da Silva. What better way to wrap up Remezcla’s celebration of Black History Month than with a look back at the life and legacy of Brazilian cultural icon, Xica da Silva, a woman born into slavery who ultimately became one of the richest and most influential Brazilians of the 18th century?
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