Central America: Variations on a Theme, Part Two

In Honduras mining was the most important industry, occurring originally near the Guatemalan border and in the interior. However by the 1540s, mining had shifted eastward toward the Rio Guayape Valley. Between 1540 and 1640 there were more Africans than Europeans, and in 1545 alone there were 2,000 Africans working the gold and silver mines. With continual slave rebellions from 1548 to the 1570s and near depletion of known sources Read More

Central America: Variations on a Theme, Part One

The nations comprising Central America are Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Until the 1650s Africans comprised a larger portion of the population than European and mestizo combined in Santiago de Guatemala (Guatemala) which was the Spanish Empire’s capital for all of Central America. Although Africans and their descendants have lived throughout this region for more than five hundred years only Nicaraguans easily acknowledge their Black Read More

Mexico: Defining the Mix

A great number of the posts for this blog have referred to the history of the U.S. mainland. The African Diaspora includes, obviously, other regions of the Western Hemisphere as well. Mexico is such an example, and as a neighbor of the United States has shared culture, history and even land. Both countries practiced slavery, first of the indigenous people and later Africans and Asians. Both countries are ambivalent in Read More