Pata Seca, also known as Roque José Florêncio, was an enslaved African who endured a life marked by oppression and dehumanization in Colonial Brazil. His tragic existence revolved around his role as a breeder, where he was bought specifically to produce offspring for his owner’s benefit.
Pata Seca, who was born in Sorocaba, São Paulo, in the first half of the 19th century, became the property of a farmer from São Carlos, São Paulo. Standing at an impressive height of 7’2″, he was deemed a perfect candidate for the role of a breeder. Consequently, Pata Seca was specifically selected to engage in relations with female slaves, aiming to generate a strong labor force with favorable genetic traits.
Pata Seca’s life was controlled by his owner’s desires. He was meticulously checked for diseases, well-fed, and like a livestock, he was put to work as a breeder.
The exact number of women he slept with or the frequency of these encounters remains unknown. However, it is estimated that Pata Seca fathered over 200 children who inherited their father’s enslaved status. Consequently, they too experienced lives of servitude, with some being sold for profit and others compelled to toil on their owners’ plantations.
In addition to his breeding duties, Pata Seca also attended to the horses and was entrusted with the responsibility of transporting correspondence between the farm and the city.
During slavery, slave owners would breed their strongest male slaves with their strongest female slaves to create physically superior offspring
Due to his success in producing a significant number of offspring for his owner, Pata Seca received relatively favorable treatment. He was granted special privileges and even received a plot of land from his master when slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888.
After gaining his freedom, Pata Seca found love and companionship in a woman named Palmira, whom he married. Together, they were blessed with nine children, forming the foundation of their own family. In the land gifted to him by his former master, Pata Seca dedicated himself to constructing a new life for his loved ones.
Embracing the role of a farmer, Pata Seca owned and operated “Sítio Pata Seca,” his very own farm. Here, he toiled tirelessly in the production and sale of rapadura, a solid form of unrefined cane sugar. Though his earnings were modest, Pata Seca utilized them to provide for his family, nurturing their well-being and nurturing his dreams of a brighter tomorrow.
However, tragedy struck Pata Seca’s life when he accidentally stepped on a nail one fateful morning. The resulting injury led to tetanus, and despite receiving initial care from a local healer, Pata Seca’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Consequently, Pata Seca passed away in February 1958 at the age of 130, a mere three months after participating in the city’s birthday parade as the oldest man in the county.
Pata Seca’s life serves as a harrowing reminder of the immense suffering endured by Africans who were enslaved in Brazil. Despite the hardships he faced, Pata Seca’s legacy lives on as a testament to the strength and resilience of those who endured the darkest chapters of history.
<em?Slave owners in US also bred slaves for specific physical characteristics that they believed would make them more valuable as workers. For example, they would breed slaves who were tall and strong for field work, and those who were smaller and more agile for tasks such as housework.
I recommend exploring the article that delves into the topic of slave breeding in the United States during the 19th century. It examines the disturbing practice of treating enslaved Africans as livestock, highlighting the historical context and details surrounding this aspect of American slavery.
Must Read
The Role of the US Government in the Forced Sterilization of Black Women
How Enslaved Black Women Resisted Slave Breeding By Using Cotton Roots as Contraceptives
Slave Breeding in the US: How Enslaved Africans were Bred Like Livestock in the 19th Century
Modified on March, 2024
Was not this topic the very thing that got “Jimmy the Greek” cancelled in the 1980s? ( Look it up youngins…he was canned by CBS Sports from NFL Today.)
Died at 130 years of age!! Wow! He was old!!
130 years? Hardly.
lived to 130 years and who’s job it was to shag. Man I’m falling behind! lol JK
Who checks the validity of these posts? 130? Br fkn for real
Well, guess it gives him long life.
that explains a lot….And i rest my case.
Brasil is full of Pata seca’s tribe, his legacy lives on, can’t water down or dilute, can’t hide the truth from the youth, you can kill the fruits not the root, because the youths are holding ther roots
7 foot tall, lived to 130. I don’t think so.
Did he really suffer? Or enjoyed his life maybe?
130 Very Laughable
Don’t knock it, my grandfather lived to his 100th year and three of his brothers were over 100 when they died and all of them were over 7ft tall my grandfather was the shortest and the third born…. He came from the tribe called the ancient people of Oklahoma
Reading the comments we can see the general insensitivity of the people who visit and read this venue. The point calling more attention is the height and the age when he died. The fact that he was treated as live stock , and of course all the women used to produce childs to benefit his owner by increasing his labor force or selling them
to others slaves owners was not to important for most of the people comments . Even was some humorístist tone with sexual innuendos . Shame in those inhuman people. I
The comments prove why you have earned your Divine Judgment.