L' évangélisation des esclaves Bantu et les résistances en Colombie 1602-1774

À propos

The necessity to evangelize the Bantu slaves was in keeping with the demands of converting America into a pure and orthodox land. That mission was initiated by the catholic royalty, namely Isabelle and Ferdinand of Aragon at the reconquista. It's for that purpose that Pope Alejandro 6 (by means of Papal bull named Inter coetera 1 and 2 in 1493) turned catholic kings into loyal messengers of the propagation of the Christian faith worldwide, particularly in America. Consequently, in 1580, Portugal was granted the right to massively import Bantu slaves by way of asiento (a contract allowing the exportation of slaves from Africa to America). For the safety of the slave trade, the Portuguese had to baptize and Christianize the kidnapped Bantus prior to their embarkation in slave ports. In the 17th century, the case of Cartagena of the Indies as the main port of call and slaves distribution all-over Hispanic America drew our attention. That’s why we sought to show how the Bantu slaves were evangelized from the 17th century to the 18th century by the Jesus-Company. In other words, our purpose was to highlight the process that led the descendants of the Bantus to preserve their basic culture and tradition in spite of rigorous control under the Inquisition from 1610. Therefore, the presence of Bantu-derived culture along the Colombian Atlantic Coast is the irrefutable proof that the evangelization campaign that those people suffered was a failure. The desire to restore their humanity, to preserve their identity and to pass it down to their descendants was the main goal of the Maroons. Residing in the palenques, they were the vanguard of Bantu cultural-resistance in Colombia and anticipated, back then, the anti-slavery-revolt movement.