Cobra Verde

Drought ruins Francisco Manoel da Silva's Brazilian ranch, forcing him to take a job at a gold mining operation. He discovers he's being financially exploited by the company and murders his boss in retaliation. This act transforms him into Cobra Verde, a feared outlaw who roams the sertão robbing stagecoaches.

In a town, da Silva subdues an escaping slave by force, a display that catches the eye of the wealthy sugar baron Dom Octávio Coutinho. Impressed, Coutinho hires him to oversee slaves on his plantation. The arrangement marks the start of a dangerous, symbiotic relationship between outlaw and planter.

Da Silva becomes involved with the Coutinho family and impregnates all three of the Dom's daughters. The scandal reveals Cobra Verde's true identity to his powerful employer. Rather than punish him outright, Coutinho hatches a plan that will pull him into an even darker enterprise.

Coutinho, furious but strategic, decides to use Cobra Verde for the impossible task of reopening the slave trade with West Africa. Da Silva accepts, aware the venture could cost him his life but seeks power and wealth. The mission shifts the outlaw onto a global stage.

Da Silva travels by sea to Dahomey (present-day Benin) to begin negotiations with the West African rulers. He aims to establish the slave-trading network and secure a foothold in the region. The voyage marks a turning point from Brazilian outlaw to international player.

In Dahomey, Cobra Verde convinces King Bossa Ahadee to exchange slaves for rifles, granting him resources and leverage. He also seizes Elmina Castle as a base of operation and partners with Taparica, the king's survivor ally. The alliance transforms the trade into a broader, organized network.

The King accuses da Silva of crimes he did not commit and sentences him to death. He and Taparica are saved the night before execution by the King's nephew, who negotiates a blood alliance with Cobra Verde to overthrow the King. The near-death experience bonds Cobra Verde to a new plan.

Cobra Verde trains an enormous army of native women who learn to use weapons. Initially, they are shown as wanting to kill all men, but their campaign becomes the backbone of the power shift in Dahomey. They march on the capital to topple the king.

The women-led army defeats King Bossa Ahadee, and Cobra Verde becomes a central figure in the new order. The regime continues the slave trade under the new ruler, maintaining profits for the network. Cobra Verde remains a ruthless operator throughout.

Brazil abolishes slavery and seizes Cobra Verde's assets, while Britain places a bounty on his head. Despite these pressures, his network persists, illustrating the stubborn endurance of the slave trade. Da Silva's wealth and power clash with the rising anti-slavery sentiment.

Exhausted and hunted, Cobra Verde reaches the beach at Elmina and tries to haul a boat into the surf so he can escape. The effort is too heavy for a single man, and a polio-stricken African man approaches on all fours, ending the chase in a somber moment. The scene underscores the cost of his lifetime of crime.

The film closes with a group of confident young African women laughing and chanting through the end credits. The scene offers a glimmer of empowerment and a future beyond Cobra Verde's crimes and the era of the slave trade.