Pata Seca was a slave who had 249 biological children

Pata Seca, or Roque José Florencio, was a slave born in Sorocaba, Brazil in 1828. He fathered approximately 249 children, born to different enslaved women. Pata Seca was chosen by his master as a breeding slave because he was physically strong, tall, powerful, and had excellent genetic characteristics. He was forced to have with slave women without a condom, with the aim of producing more children who would also be enslaved. Pata Seca's children are spread throughout Brazil. They were often bought and sold as commodities in slave markets, or forced to work on their masters' plantations. Pata Seca itself was finally freed from secession in 1888, after Brazil abolished secession. However, he was never able to find all of his children.