Cited by 0Historical Studies in Latin AmericaColonialism, slavery, and tradeAfro-Latin American Studies

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Participación de los esclavos de Esmeraldas en las guerras de independencia (1809-1822). La construcción étnica de un proyecto social en medio de la libertad

Open access
Novoa, Rocío Rueda·2016·SATHIRI

Abstract

Este ensayo explora la participación de los esclavizados del norte de la provincia de Esmeraldas en las contiendas por la independencia de la corona española, unos sujetos sociales que frente a la promesa de la insurgencia de otorgarles la libertad, decidieron luchar a favor de la causa republicana. La intención era continuar y asegurar la construcción de comunidades e identidades colectivas en medio de la libertad y autonomía, iniciado con el arribo de esclavos provenientes de las minas neogranadinas a la provincia de Esmeraldas. Con este objetivo demandaron del nuevo Estado republicano el reconocimiento como hombres libres y ser incluidos como ciudadanos en el nuevo ordenamiento social republicano: propuesta realizada por el discurso liberal independentista. Una propuesta que quedó en el discurso frente a lo cual los negros de las minas debieron idear diversas estrategias para continuar reproduciendo su forma de vida en medio de la libertad.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This essay argues that enslaved people in northern Esmeraldas used the 1809–1822 independence wars to advance their own ethnic and social project: defending territory, autonomy, and community life while pressing the new republican state to recognize them as free citizens. Although they fought for the patriot cause after promises of freedom, the liberal promise largely remained rhetorical, forcing them into continued strategies of resistance and negotiation.

Key findings

  • Enslaved people from the río Santiago mining camps—Playa de Oro, San Antonio de Cachavi, and Guembi—were politically active in the independence conflict, using cimarronaje, negotiation, violent confrontation, rumor, and judicial litigation to preserve their autonomous way of life and collective identity.
  • In February 1813, the first collective mobilization of enslaved people from Playa de Oro and Cachavi took place; at the attack on La Tola, enslaved and free Black people numbered around 200, joined by 20 highlanders, 23 ships, and 25 free Black deserters from the royalist troop.
  • An 1815 visit recorded 209 enslaved people at Playa de Oro, 85 at San José de Cachavi, and 70 at Guembi—364 in total—while dispersed people in the mountains were estimated at around 500; the enslaved negotiated a rental/pension arrangement, paying 1,100 pesos (550 castellanos) for the San Juan and Navidad tercios in 1815, with 925 pesos registered in 1817.
  • In 1826, after independence, the captains of the mining cuadrillas petitioned the protector general of slaves, rejecting the label “alzados,” demanding recognition as free people, and defending their “patrio suelo”; a local witness testified that the enslaved had lived without masters “como libres” for more than fourteen years.

Methods

  • Historical essay covering northern Esmeraldas and the río Santiago mining frontier during the independence wars (1809–1822), with attention to the 1826 petition by mining captains.
  • Based mainly on archival documentary sources from Ecuadorian and Colombian national archives—especially ANE, Presidencia de Quito, and the Esclavos and Civiles funds—plus secondary historical and anthropological literature.
  • Qualitative historical interpretation; because the region was treated as a frontier marginal to the central state, most records were official, requiring contrast among source types to reconstruct enslaved people’s traces.

Limitations

  • Stated in the paper: the study area was considered a frontier marginal to the central state, so surviving records are mostly official; this forced the author to contrast different sources and make an interpretive effort to recover the traces left by the enslaved people of the río Santiago.
  • Stated in the paper: historical research on Black Esmeraldas remains “a project under construction,” and historical production on this population is poor, so the work aims to contribute new elements rather than offer a complete account.
  • Evident from the text: the OCR is heavily garbled in many passages, with missing words and unclear citations, which limits precise verification of some details; the reliance on official and elite sources also means enslaved voices appear mainly through petitions, testimony, and reported speech.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.32645/13906925.190

Cites

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 11 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 47 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 80
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 49
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 5
99 of 99
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The archival documents cited are authentic and reliable accounts of the events they describe.

    “En las cartas de Pedro Pérez Muñoz, terrateniente del valle del Chota y señor de minas del real de Cachavi se relata sobre el trayecto de las tropas rebeldes hacia la Costa.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The enslaved people of Esmeraldas fought as montoneros in a disorderly manner without a structured plan, due to limited military training and scarce armament.

    “lo que suponemos ocurrió con los esclavizados de Esmeraldas, debido al limitado adiestramiento militar y escaso armamento con que contaban”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The fugitive blacks of the Patía valley participated alongside the royalists through a guerrilla system with pillage, road blockades, and arms theft, harassing republican troops until 1816.

    “Los patianos participaron junto a los realistas a través de un sistema de guerrilla que desarrolló efectivas actividades de pillaje, bloqueo de vías y robo de armamento, hostigando a las tropas republicanas en su avance hacia el sur hasta 1816.”
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Metadata

Authors
Novoa, R. R.
Affiliations
Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar - Ecuador
Venue
SATHIRI
Published
2016-06-30
Issue
10
Pages
273-296
ISSN
  • 1390-6925 (ISSN-L)
  • 2631-2905
OpenAlex
W2941957192
Cited by
0
References
0
FWCI
0.00
Type
journal article
Language
es
Open access
Locations
SATHIRI (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Historical Studies in Latin America
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Colonialism, slavery, and trade
  • Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Afro-Latin American Studies
Keywords
enslaved people, Esmeraldas, wars of independence, Spanish American independence, collective identity, ethnic construction, republican citizenship, emancipation, social order

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