Isthmus Of Panama Essay

This essay 's argument will develop two aspects: 1.) The role of African slaves and West Indians immigrant in colonial and post-colonial time in Panama. 2.) How does the fluidity of racial identity translate in the literary discourses between Afro-Hispanic and West Indians in moderns times?. Within this frame, I will argue that these two aspects map out the problem of African descendants racial identity that exists in Panama today. I. African Slaves and West Indians diasporas in Colonial and post-colonial Panama. The history of Panama records five significant migrations of African subjects, with distinct circumstances and epochs---However, for the purpose of the argument, I will refer only to the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries migration. These two movements, in my opinion, impacted and set the foundation for the concept of race identity for Panamanians African descendant today. Panama geographical position played an important role during early colonial times. The Isthmus of Panama was an important commercial passageway for the Atlantic slave trade. The …show more content…
According to Panamanian historian Mario Jose Molina-Castillo, the "negros esclavos" were certainly an item in the trade economy of Panama. He points out that slave trade occurred through licenses granted by the Spanish Crown to the compañías de la trata, who mobilize [...]black slaves to commercialize them in America" (Castillo,7:2011). Accordingly, Panama "developed into the primary slave market" (Klein & Vinson,). Further, Castillero asserts, since slave trade transformed into an essential financial sector, in the same manner, it gave entrance to "contraband and illegal transactions [...] in which frequently black slaves were commercialized.[...]; it was a resource utilized by English and Hollands [...]to sell [...]slaves" into Panama (Castillero,