They stand out for having dark skin. Africans were enslaved in the early 16th century in Colombia. Enslaved African people were forced to work in gold mines , on sugarcane plantations , cattle ranches , and large haciendas. Other sectors of the Colombian economy , like tobacco , cotton , artisanship and domestic work would have been impossible without African labor.
In pre-abolition Colombian society, many Afro-Colombian captives fought the Spanish, their colonial forces and their freedom as soon as they arrived in Colombia. Those who escaped from their oppressors would live in free Black African towns called Palenques , where they would live as " Cimarrones ", or fugitives.
African people played key roles in the struggle for independence from the Spanish Crown. In , after the abolition of slavery, the plight of Afro-Colombians was very difficult.
They were forced to live in the jungles for self-protection. There they learned to have a harmonious relationship with the jungle environment and share the territory with Colombia's indigenous people. Beginning in , the Colombian State promoted mestizaje or miscegenation. In order to maintain their cultural traditions, many Africans and indigenous peoples went deep into isolated jungles. Afro-Colombians and indigenous people were often targeted by armed groups who wanted to displace them in order to take their land for sugar cane plantations, coffee and banana plantations, mining and wood exploitation.
This form of discrimination still occurs today. In the s, there was a major influx of Afro-Colombians into urban areas in search of greater economic and social opportunities for their children. Most Afro-Colombians are currently living in urban areas. The Colombian Constitution gave them the right to collective ownership of traditional Pacific coastal lands and special cultural development protections.
