SLAVERY IN COLOMBIA: HISTORY AND ABOLITION - HISTORY - 2025

The slavery in Colombia was a historical period that lasted from the beginning of the sixteenth century until 1851. This process involved the trafficking of African origin by early European settlers from Spain and British merchants.

In 1520 the African slave trade began because the number of indigenous inhabitants of Colombia was rapidly decreasing, either due to wars or famine; as a consequence, the Spanish Crown was left without a workforce.

Most of the slaves came from Congo, Angola, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Guinea. Upon arriving in Colombia, they settled in the two coastal regions of the country, along the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

The manumission, also known as the act of freeing slaves, was a long and irregular process. This was integrated for the first time in the Constitution of Cartagena; however, it would take more than 40 years for the Colombian government to carry it out officially.

History of slavery in Colombia since the Spanish conquest

Slavery is one of the oldest human business practices. In old civilizations, like Egypt or the Roman Empire, prisoners of war were enslaved. This ensured that the heavy work was inexpensive, making it a very lucrative economic activity, especially in newly founded cities.

For this reason, the colonizers of America ventured into the purchase and sale of African slaves, a practice that some British navigators engaged in in the 16th century.

Unlike other territories on the continent where the purchase of slaves was less, this was of utmost importance for the Spanish Crown in Colombia.

Triggers

The conquest of Colombia was a difficult process and, as a consequence, there were large amounts of human casualties for the indigenous peoples.

The constant battles for territory and the mismanagement of natural resources unleashed famines and a rapid decline in the native inhabitants.

Faced with an insufficient labor force, the Crown found the solution to these economic problems in the trade in people, which otherwise would have culminated in a failed colony unable to be self-sufficient.

The activities of the slave

The slaves came from the west-central coast of Africa, were transported in huge ships and made transatlantic voyages in precarious conditions. The coast of Cartagena de Indias in Colombia was the main port for slaves arriving in America.

Once on the mainland the slaves were separated; It was intended that there were not people of the same ethnic group or region together. They were displayed outdoors and presented as merchandise available for sale.

Hundreds of thousands of slaves left this Colombian region for the territories of Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. They were used mainly for agricultural and mining exploitation.

Their trade was in great demand since, thanks to their countries of origin, slaves resisted the climate and tropical diseases that abounded in the Caribbean.

Reception in Colombian society

Once slavery was established in Colombia, social movements were carried out against the human quality of Africans. They came to be compared to animals, and for this reason they were stripped of all rights.

They were widely considered inferior and were excluded from any activity or citizen participation. To also deny them the Catholic religion, a movement was created that accused slaves of being "soulless" creatures.

Abolition

After almost 300 years, slavery would be rethought and consequently abolished. However, the process was long and full of irregularities. The change of thought would come thanks to the events on the international scene at that time.

Background of the abolitionist movement

When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, it was accompanied by ideas about the freedom of oppressed peoples. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, the central document of the Revolution, ignited a series of libertarian struggles throughout the world.

The independence struggles of Latin American peoples -inspired by this event- were the triggers for the abolition of slavery in the territory.

In some cases, as it was in Colombia, it would not be consolidated until the first years of its independence.

Constitution of Cartagena

In 1810, with the creation of the state of Cartagena, the abolition of slavery in Colombia was officially presented. However, this would not be respected and the slave trade and trade would continue, who were still considered private property by merchants.

Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan military and Colombia's main liberating agent, freed those who joined his independence struggle from their status as slaves, thus being the first great figure to grant manumission to Africans.

The struggle for abolition would continue and in 1823 the sale of slaves was declared totally prohibited, a law that would continue to be ignored by the Colombian people.

It was not until 1851 that the abolition in Colombia was carried out in a general way, because the State undertook to pay compensation to those who were owners.

Consequences of slavery in Colombia

During the most lucrative stage of the slave trade in America, about 150,000 Africans arrived in the Colombian Caribbean.

This would have as a consequence radical changes in the culture and society of the country, changes that are still in force today, almost 500 years after its beginning.

Demographic consequences

Like the coasts to the north of Venezuela and the islands of the Caribbean, the coastal population of Colombia has a marked number of Afro-descendants. These dispersed to the shores of the North Pacific and the Caribbean Sea.

The highest concentration of Afro-descendants in the country is in Santander de Quilichao (97% of its inhabitants).

In the town of Palenque de San Basilio, 50 km from Cartagena de Indias, which was the epicenter of slavery in Colombia, the traditions and languages ​​of these peoples are still preserved.

At present, Afro-Colombians make up 10% of the country's population, thus becoming the fifth largest black population in America; The United States, Brazil, Haiti and Ecuador surpass it.

References

1. Atlanta Black Star (2015) History of Cartagena, Colombia: Spanish America's biggest Slave Port. Atlanta Black Star. Recovered from atlantablackstar.com
2. Bermúdez, M. (2011) Abolished slavery in Colombia. Mayor of Santiago de Cali. Recovered from cali.gov.co
3. Hodges, K. (2017) Why learning about Afro-Colombian history is important, especially today. Colombia Reports. Recovered from colombiareports.com
4. Afropedea (sf) Afro-Colombian. Afropedea. Recovered from afropedea.org
5. Real Histories (sf) Slavery in Latin America. The Real Histories Directory. Recovered from realhistories.org.uk