Roque Jose Florencio, nicknamed Pata Seca, who was born in 1828 in Angola was turned into a “breeding slave” and forced into fathering more than 200 children, making him a direct ancestor of about 30% of the population of Santa Eudoxia, Sao Carlos.
Published Date – 17 January 2024, 09:23 PM
File photo of Roque Jose Florencio
Slavery, one of the worst vices to have troubled the human society has followed along as years went by. While it can’t be confirmed when it started, there are references of the societal menace even in the Bible!
Scores of people have been pushed into slavery over the years and there have been several stories of oppression, some told, some untold. While some of the stories have been gruesome, some have been heroic. One such story is of Roque Jose Florencio, an African slave who was taken into slavery in Brazil.
Roque Jose Florencio, nicknamed Pata Seca, who was born in 1828 in Angola was turned into a “breeding slave” and forced into fathering more than 200 children, making him a direct ancestor of about 30% of the population of Santa Eudoxia, Sao Carlos.
A strong and tall man, standing over 7 feet tall and weighing over 300 pounds, Pata Seca was forced into being a breeding slave in order to generate a strong labour force with favourable genetic traits.
Simply put, he was forced into impregnating other slave women, who would give birth to children with his genes, only to grow up to be as strong as him and make good slaves like their father.
Despite facing unimaginable hardships, Pata Seca’s spirit remained unbroken as he become a free man after witnessing the abolition of slavery in Brazil in 1888. Seca also emerged as a natural-born leader, aiding many slaves in their escape to freedom and creating a legacy that lives on in his descendants around the world.
He eventually married a woman named Palmira and had 9 children with her.
Seca accidentally stepped on a nail injuring himself, which led to tetanus infection. Despite receiving initial care from a local healer, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he died at the age of 130.
Every year on June 13, his children gather to honor his memory and continue his fight for abolition. Pata Seca’s story is a powerful testament to resilience and hope in the darkest of times.
