It is an interesting paradox that although Colombia has the third largest population of African origin in the Western Hemisphere (after Brazil and the United States), its leaders have consistently portrayed their country as a mestizo nation. On the surface, their historical dismissal of the black population can be explained by the fact that the majority of Afro-Colombians are inhabitants of the Caribbean coast and the Pacific lowlands, which are far away and isolated from the highland capital, and that despite the density of their numbers, they have failed to develop a “collective black- or African-derived identity” (p. 3). However, Aline Helg is not content with these simplistic rationalizations. In an effort to uncover more plausible reasons for Colombia’s neglect of its Afro-Caribbean population, she has written an encyclopedic history of the Caribbean region, which traces its social, cultural, economic, and political development from the late Bourbon era through the...
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
