Maria Do Carmo Geronimo (March 5, 1871? – June 14, 2000) claimed to have been the last Brazilian slave. Born in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 at the claimed date of March 5, 1871, she died on June 14, 2000 at the claimed age of .

Age claim

Though her age was never validated, Maria do Carmo was popular in the press in the 1990s. She was often shown with Frenchwoman

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Jeanne Calment

Jeanne Calment

Jeanne Louise Calment was a French supercentenarian who had the longest confirmed human life span in history, living to the age of . She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life, and outlived both her daughter and grandson. She became especially well known from the age of 113, when the...

("Women in the 120s") or at Carnival. In August 1997, she was featured in Time Magazine following the death of Calment (listing potential claimants to the 'world's oldest person' title).

Historical claim

Historians note that even though Brazil didn't abolish slavery until 1888, a law passed in June 1871 required that children born to slaves henceforward would be free. Thus, it was possible her age was exaggerated to make her 'legal' as a slave. On the other hand, Maria claimed to still have whip marks on her back, and slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888—when she would have been 17 years old, if born in 1871. Proponents of her claim point out that if she had been much younger, she wouldn't have been whipped.