✊🏾🇸🇻 Afro-Salvadoran History Lesson 📖⠀ ⠀
“Yo soy Sebastiana la negra, reina de los Africanos, vengo a celebrar este día con mis toreros.”⠀ ⠀
𝑬𝒍 𝒃𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝑵𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂 𝑺𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏, a song and dance from 🇸🇻 symbolizing the arrival of Spaniards with Tlaxcalans and Africans.⠀ ⠀
African slavery was introduced to 🇸🇻 (formerly known as Cuscatlán) in the 1500s after a law from Spain was passed prohibiting the use of the indiginous labor due to the alarming death count brought from disease, working conditions and plague. ⠀ ⠀
Over the years it is noted that upwards of 10,000 West Africans were brought to work in 4 main areas:⠀ ⠀
👉🏽 Fight among the Spanish in the conquest of what is now Central America⠀
👉🏽 Cacao and Sugar plantations⠀
👉🏽 Iron Mining⠀
👉🏽 Indigo ⠀ ⠀
From the Atlantic Ocean, Africans were brought to ports in Omoa, El Rio Dulce, Castillo de San Felipe. From the Pacific Ocean through Puerto de Acajutla. Ships passing from Peru and Panama brought slaves and merchandise to the port to trade in exchange for highly sought after items like indigo.⠀ ⠀ The area of San Vicente and San Miguel quickly became the center destination of slavery. By 1821 the population of El Salvador was over 50% mixed racial ancestry, indigenous, Spanish, and African.⠀ ⠀
In 1824 Jose S. Cañas, Manuel J. Arce and Fr. Jose M. Delgado were instrumental in the abolition of slavery in Central America.⠀ ⠀
José Simeón Cañas is famously known for his demand for change:⠀ “Con toda la energía que debe un diputado los asuntos interesantes a la Patria, pido ante todas las cosas y en la sesión del día, se declaren ciudadanos libres a nuestros hermanos esclavos.” Swipe 👈🏽 to see more.⠀ ⠀
The federation became the first nation in the “New World” after Haiti to abolish slavery, years before the US, and Abraham Lincoln. ⠀ ⠀
Today African influence can be found in danced like “Negritos of Cacaopera”, musical instruments like la marimba and artisan pieces like el canasto. In Zacatecoluca you will find African statues and the last week of August honors and celebrates African heritage in 🇸🇻
