According to local accounts passed down through generations, the woman was named Benedita. Born into slavery on a coffee plantation near Vassouras, she grew up performing difficult physical labor from a young age. Strong, hardworking, and unusually tall for a woman of her time, she became known throughout the region for her strength and endurance.
The Auction That Changed Everything
In the late 1800s, Brazil was still living through the final years of slavery. Enslaved people were routinely bought and sold, treated as property rather than human beings.
