History of Capoeira

Capoeira’s history is long and ambiguous. There have been many papers and books, mainly in Portuguese, about the origin of capoeira, the origin of instruments, moves, songs and so forth. Wikipedia has good article on capoeira as a whole that covers the history of capoeira decently.

Here's a different wordpress blog that covers capoeira history quite well

To put the history succinctly, capoeira was developed by African slaves brought to Brazil in the 18th century. They developed it to eventually rebel against their masters, and to hide the fact that they were training they disguised it as a dance. However, this is disputed. Some scholars say that capoeira evolved from tribal dances or ritual fights that slaves brought with them. Augusto Ferreira, a researcher of capoeira, said in his book História da Capoeira: “Capoeira was born out of a burning desire for freedom. Only through the efforts of these men would the slaves free themselves and return once more to the life of freedom they had known in their own land.”

As Brazil moved towards independence and abolishment of slavery in the 1800’s, capoeira became more widespread. However, it became associated with bandits, thieves and gangs and was seen as a social sickness. It was outlawed in Brazil throughout most of the 1800’s and the beginning of the 1900’s. Capoeiristas were persecuted widely by police, a common punishment being their hamstrings cut. It was during this time that capoeira developed many of its traditions that are seen today.

An explanation of capoeira nicknames, or apellidos:

This changed in 1932 when a capoeirista by the name of Manuel dos Reis Machado, or Mestre Bimba, created a new style of capoeira called Capoeira Regional and was able to promote the cultural value of capoeira to the government. After the ban was lifted, capoeira flourished to become what it is today.

Here’s a wordpress blog that has a very detailed account of capoeira’s history for those interested.