MESTIZAJE IN COLOMBIA: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2024

The miscegenation in Colombia was the process of miscegenation that took place after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores to the Americas. Later, it also occurred with the Africans who were taken as slaves to Colombian lands.

The Spaniards who came to America were, almost one hundred percent, men. This, along with some other circumstances, led to their mixing with indigenous women, the vast majority of the time by force. The descendants were the first mestizos.

Afro-Colombians, indigenous people - Source: Kelly Tatiana Paloma under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Similar 4.0 International license

From that moment, other types of miscegenation took place, creating a caste system that included the children of Spaniards with indigenous people, mestizos with Spaniards, the descendants of Africans, etc.

The first consequences of this miscegenation was the creation of a layer of society without legal rights. Economic and political inequality has reached our days, although over time the legal norms that discriminated against them were eliminated. On the positive side, miscegenation has been the basis of Colombian cultural wealth.

Origin

The Spanish conquest of present-day Colombia caused, as in the rest of America, changes in all senses. Among the most prominent, is the miscegenation, the racial combination between the indigenous people of the area, the Spanish and the Africans taken as slaves.

The word mestizo began to be used for human beings by the Spanish Empire during the 16th century. With it, they designated each of the castes into which they divided Colombian society according to their racial mix. In the beginning, the mestizos were the descendants of whites (especially men) with indigenous people.

Original settlers of Colombia

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the main Amerindian family that inhabited Colombia were the Chibcha or Muiscas, especially in the Andean areas. Along with them, there were also other peoples of Caribbean origin.

Spanish people

The white Europeans who came to Colombia came from Spain. Beginning in the 16th century, many colonizers moved to the new continent, seeking to improve their fortunes and start a new life.

Among the Spaniards who arrived in the area, Andalusians and Galicians stood out. Likewise, converted Jews also arrived, fleeing religious persecutions against their creed.

Africans

The lack of workers for mines and fields caused the Spanish to demand the arrival of African slaves. Starting in the 17th century, Europeans began to negotiate with these Africans, the vast majority of whom came from the Congo and Guinea Bissau.

After a few years, Africans who escaped from their owners founded their own villages, called palenques.

Start of miscegenation

As noted above, the Spaniards who arrived in Colombia were, almost unanimously, men. In addition, they were expeditions of conquest, so it was not strange that rapes occurred or that indigenous women were taken as slaves.

Apart from that factor, historians point to other points that favored these situations. Among them, the prestige that the union of their women with the Spanish represented for some indigenous people. At times, the native authorities gave the colonizers women as guarantees of peace treaties.

On the other hand, experts also point out that the Spanish had many religious prejudices, but not racial ones.

characteristics

The situation of the mestizos changed over the years. At first, they were quite well regarded socially, as their fathers were often conquerors and their mothers were princesses or indigenous women of high social rank.

However, over time, his role deteriorated. From the 16th century on, they stopped having any type of social recognition.

Mix caste

As the various social groups consolidated, various types of social caste appeared. During the colony, these groups received the name of Casta de Mezcla and their main components were the descendants of the unions between mestizos, indigenous people, blacks and, to a lesser degree, Spanish and Creoles.

From these mixtures, castes appeared, each with different names. The best known were the mulattoes, a mixture of black and white, and the zambos, children of Indians and blacks.

These caste groups, as happened with the indigenous people, could not access the higher categories within any job. Similarly, their access to education was restricted, making it impossible for social advancement to occur.

Syncretism

Another characteristic of miscegenation in Colombia occurred in areas such as politics, economics or religion. In all cases, the mestizos were the ones who got the worst of it.

In politics, the Spanish imposed their organization and their authority. The mestizos, like the indigenous people, only had the option of obeying. Something similar happened with the economic one, although the natives benefited from the new cultivation techniques brought from Europe.

Finally, the Spanish carried out a spiritual conquest that forced the natives and their descendants to abandon their beliefs and embrace Christianity.

Consequences

Mestizaje, apart from the conquest itself, was the first consequence of the Spanish conquest of Colombia. The result of the mixture between the conquerors and the indigenous people was the appearance of what became the largest human group in the country: the mestizos.

Social

Under Spanish rule, social classes were largely based on ethnicity. In addition, they were clearly differentiated, with great social, legal and economic differences. In this way, the mestizos, blacks and indigenous people occupied the last rung on the social scale.

This situation caused many mestizos, over time, to end up leading rebellions and insurrections against the colonial power.

In the economic sphere, mestizos and natives were also the most affected. The colonizers became the owners of the lands and of the companies dedicated to trade. Meanwhile, the mestizos could hardly access jobs with subsistence wages.

Current ethnography

The mixture between indigenous, Spanish and African has been the basis of the current ethnography of the country. Today, the Colombian population is made up of the descendants of the miscegenation of these three groups, in addition to the contributions of other small groups of immigrants such as gypsies or Arabs.

According to statistics, the ethnic percentages in current Colombia are the following: mestizos, 53%; white, 25%; mulattoes, 14%; black, 4%; zambos, 3%; and Amerindians, 1%.

Among the mestizos, who are distributed throughout all areas of the country, it stands out that the European contribution was through the father. Thus, 80% of Colombians come from a European male, while 85% have indigenous ancestry through the mother.

Cultural wealth

Colombian culture in all its manifestations, from music to gastronomy, is the result of the miscegenation between Spaniards, indigenous people and Africans. This has created a great cultural wealth, with variations depending on the area.

References

1. This is Colombia. Colombia, a multiethnic and multicultural country. Obtained from colombia.co
2. Ministry of National Education. Mestizaje in Colombia. Obtained from colombiaaprende.edu.co
3. The defense of the Indian. The consequences of conquest and colonization. Obtained from blogs.ua.es
4. US Library of Congress. Race and Ethnicity. Recovered from countrystudies.us
5. Hodges, Kevin. Why learning about Afro-Colombian history is important, especially today. Obtained from colombiareports.com
6. IExplore. Colombia - History and Culture. Retrieved from iexplore.com