Cobra Verde

Set in the late 1800s, the story unfolds amid colonial expansion and the waning of the Atlantic slave trade. The plot juxtaposes brutal slave labor with the early pushes for abolition across empires and nations. It reflects a world undergoing upheaval where wealth, power, and resistance shape dramatic change.

The film travels from the arid Brazilian sertão to the slave-trading coasts of West Africa, centering on the Dahomey kingdom. It weaves together landscapes of drought, plantations, and fortifications that reveal the reach of colonial economies. Elmina Castle stands as a stark symbol of the slave trade, while Bahia anchors the Brazilian side of this transatlantic system.

🧭 Colonialism

The story exposes how imperial and capitalist interests leverage power to extract labor and wealth from Africa and the Americas. Cobra Verde navigates a web of rulers, merchants, and soldiers, using force, diplomacy, and opportunism to advance his aims. The film presents empire as a system built on coercion, exploitation, and precarious alliances.

🕊️ Abolition

The narrative tracks the movement toward abolition, portraying slavery as a crime against humanity. Brazil’s eventual outlawing of slavery and shifting international attitudes are depicted as turning points undermining Cobra Verde’s enterprises. Liberation emerges from collective resistance, moral reckoning, and legal change.

💃 Female Power

Cobra Verde’s venture triggers the rise of a large army of native women who learn to wield weapons. These women challenge established male authority and play a decisive role in overthrowing the Dahomeyan king. The sequence reframes power as something that can be built and commanded by women, not just by rulers and soldiers.