Luis Gama

Luis da Gama (1830-1882) was an important Brazilian black intellectual of the 19th century. Lawyer and writer, he is regarded as the Patron of the Abolition of Slavery in Brazil and is considered by many to be the greatest abolitionist in our nation. Born of a free black mother and a white father, he was nevertheless made a slave at the age of 10, and remained illiterate until he was 17 years old. Twelve years after learning to read and write, he writes his first work. His writing is in the first person, without hiding his own origin and without ceasing to proclaim his blackness