✊🏾🇦🇷 Afroargentino History Lesson 📖 ⠀ ⠀
“Aquí nos trajeron, Aquí nos quedamos Y ahora aquí estamos Luchando por nuestros derechos.” ✍🏾 Lucía Dominga Molina Sánchez⠀ ⠀
🇦🇷’s denial of African existence in the country is undeniable.⠀ ⠀
Former President Carlos Menem once declared: “In 🇦🇷 , Blacks do not exist, that is a Brazilian problem.”⠀ ⠀
However African communities do exist, and their contributions both past and present cannot be erased. The arrival of Africans began in 1534 and by 1587 the first enslaved people brought over from 🇧🇷 originated from Angola & West Africa. Large slave markets at Lezama Park in San Telmo took place as late as 1813. ⠀
Over 12k Africans arrived between the 17th & 18th centuries. By 1778 enslaved and free Blacks comprised 30% of the population of Buenos Aires alone. ⠀ ⠀
Then in 1887, the number dropped dramatically to just 2%. It is important to note that slavery was abolished in 1853 but did not apply to Buenos Aires until 1861. The period between 1860–1914 was known as the “whitening” or blanqueamiento period, in which the ultimate erasure of the Black population occurred. By the mid 19th century, 🇦🇷 was looking to Europe as their model. ⠀ ⠀
But what did the Afro population count look like?⠀ ⠀
1778 👉🏽 7,236⠀
1810 👉🏽 9,615⠀
1838 👉🏽 14,95⠀
1887 👉🏽 8,005⠀ ⠀
🇦🇷 historians attribute the decline to 4 possible reasonings:⠀ ⠀
📝 Wiped out as a result of war⠀ ⠀
📝 Mestizaje, due to the lack of males African women turned to white males, inclined to produce lighter babies for upward social mobility⠀ ⠀
📝 Low birth rates & high mortality rates, one cause being the 1871 yellow fever⠀ ⠀
📝 The decline of the slave trade which was abolished in 1813⠀ ⠀
However, no evidence has been found to confirm the above.⠀ ⠀
Despite denial, African roots are found in Tango, Candombe (music w/ dance), el Asado and much more. November 8th is the National Day of Afro-Argentines & African Culture. The date commemorates María Remedios del Valle, known as “Madre de la Patria”, an Afroargentina who fought in the War of Independence in 1847.
