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[[Category:Spanish language]]
[[Category:Spanish language]]
[[Category:History of Spain]]
[[Category:History of Spain]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Castile]]
[[Category:Castilians]]
[[Category:Former peoples of the African diaspora]]
[[Category:Former peoples of the African diaspora]]
[[Category:Spanish slaves]]
[[Category:Spanish slaves]]

Revision as of 05:08, 21 March 2013

Black Ladinos were Spanish-speaking black Africans exiled to the Americas after spending time[1] in Castile .They were often referred to as negros ladinos ("cultivated" or "latinized Blacks"), as opposed to negros bozales (i.e., those captured in Africa). The Ladinos' skills granted them a higher price than those of bozales.[2] Those Blacks born in the Americas were negros criollos ("Creole Blacks")

History

Prior to the arrival of Columbus to the Americas, there were Black or Moorish African slaves in the Iberian Peninsula, brought either through the Arabic slave trade or from the Castilian and Portuguese. After some time in the Spanish society, these slaves become Christianized and learnt Spanish. There were 50 000 Black Ladinos in Spain in the 15th century [3]

After the initial stages of the Spanish colonization of the Americas showed that Amerindians were not suitable for the labour that the conquerors required (mainly due to the Eurasian illnesses unknown in the Americas), Nicolás de Ovando decided to bring slaves from Spain.[4] Between 1502 and 1518, Castile exiled hundreds of black slaves, primarily to work as miners. Opponents of their enslavement cited their Christian faith and their repeated attempts of escape to the mountains or to join the Native Americans in revolt. Proponents declared that the rapid diminution of the Native American population required a consistent supply of reliable low-cost workers. Free Spaniards were reluctant to do manual labor or to remain settled (especially after the discovery of gold on the mainland), and only slave labor assured the economic viability of the colonies.

Examples

  • Estevanico (c. 1500–1539), a Berber captured by the Portuguese and sold to a Spanish Conquistador.
  • The slaves in the schooner La Amistad were Mendes captured in Africa but were described as Ladinos[5] by their Cuban buyers to avoid the ban on international slave trade.

See also

References