Burn! Quotes

Ship Captain: There are only about 5,000 whites here. The population's mostly black or mulatto. The blacks, of course, are slaves; except for a handful who's owner's freed them for one reason or another.

Ship's Captain: "Queimada" means burnt. In fact, the Portuguese had to burn the island to put down the resistance of the Indians when they took it. Since the natives were all killed, they brought in slaves from Africa to work the cane fields.

Ship's Captain: That large, flat, white rock you see offshore is called, Cemitrio Branco dos Negros, because the bodies of slaves who died during the trip over were thrown there. They say they lost nearly half of the poor beggars. And that exceptional whiteness there seems, in fact, to derive from the dust of their bones, which have penetrated into and merged with the rocks.

Sir William Walker: Stinking, lying, black ape! You filthy thief, you did steal my bags, didn't you?

Teddy Sanchez: Long live Queimada. Long live Queimada! Long live Queimada! Freedom! Freeeeeeedom!

José Dolores: Go away! And stay away! Ramón, clear the whites out! All of them!

Sir William Walker: Who'll govern your island, José? Who'll run your industries? Who'll handle your commerce? Who'll cure the sick? Teach in your schools? This man? Or that man? Or the other? Civilization is not a simple matter, José. You cannot learn its secrets overnight. Today civilization belongs to the white man - and you must learn to use it. Without it, you cannot go forward.

Sir William Walker: Now we must realize, gentlemen, that if we are to succeed in eliminating José Dolores, it's not because we're better than he is or that we're braver than he is, it's simply because we have more arms and more men than he has. And we must also realize that the soldier either fights to earn his pay or because his country forces him to do so. But the guerrilla, on the other hand, fights for an idea.

Sir William Walker: I think it's a rather simple calculation. What does a guerrilla have to lose, except his life? Whereas you, General, have a lot to lose. Wife, children, house, career, savings, personal pleasures and private aspirations and it's nothing to be ashamed of that's simply the way of it.

Teddy Sanchez: The government promises you that the war will end soon. Peace will come. And order will again be established. And you will be able to go back to your houses and to your work. Have faith a little longer. We will do everything possible to alleviate your suffering. I beg you, my fellow citizens, listen to me. Believe me. Trust us!

Teddy Sanchez: Who knows? If there hadn't been a Royal Sugar, would there have been a José Dolores? Who knows, General?

Sir William Walker: That's the logic of profit, isn't it, my dear Shelton? One builds to make money. And to go on making it or to make more, sometimes it's necessary to destroy.

Sir William Walker: Do you know why this island is called Queimada? Because it was already burnt once, and do you know why? Because even then, it was the only way to conquer the resistance of the people and after that, the Portuguese exploited the island in peace for nearly 300 years.

Sir William Walker: You know that fire can't cross the sea because it goes out! But certain news, certain ideas travel by ships' crews.

Sir William Walker: I'm also not sure just why I do what I'm doing. Perhaps it's only for the pleasure of it. Or, perhaps I'm unable to do anything else. Perhaps I've nothing else to do, but I do know that whenever I try to do something, I try to do it well.

Sir William Walker: A fine specimen, isn't he? You know, it's an exemplary story. In the beginning he was nothing. A porter, a water carrier. And England makes him a revolutionary leader and when he no longer serves her, he's put aside. And when he rebels again more or less in the name of those same ideals which England's taught him - England decides to eliminate him. Don't you think that's a small masterpiece?

José Dolores: It is not true that fire destroys everything. A little life always remains. Yet in the end, a blade of grass. So, how come the white invaders win? How come they win in the end? Someone of us will always remain. Still others will be born later. And others, too, will begin to understand. In the end, you also will understand. And the whites, in the end, will be maddened by you. Madder than a white beast becomes when he finds he's closed in and the mad beast'll run for the last time, pursued and hunted all over the island, till he falls into one of the great fires that he himself has made. And the groans from this dying beast will become our first cry of freedom. One that will be heard far, far beyond this island.

Sir William Walker: Now, listen to me, you black ape! Listen to me. It wasn't I that invented this war. And furthermore, in this case, I didn't even start it. I arrived here and you were already butchering one another.

José Dolores: If they let me live it means it is convenient for them. And if it's convenient for them, it is convenient for me to die.

José Dolores: The hunter lets the hawk live only when he wants a decoy or to hunt in his place. He's kept alive, but in a cage.

José Dolores: If a man gives you freedom, it is not freedom. Freedom is something you, you alone, must take.

Sir William Walker: You can't tell what a man will do to stay alive. Until you put him to the test, you'll really never know.

José Dolores: Inglis, remember what you said? Civilization belongs to whites. But what civilization and till when?