Cimarron people (Panama)
Encyclopedia
The Cimarrons or Cimarrones in Panama
, were enslaved
Africans
who had escaped from their Spanish masters and lived together as outlaws. In the 1570s, they allied with Sir Francis Drake of England to defeat the Spanish conquest and plunder their riches.
In Sir Francis Drake Revised (1572), Drake describes the Cimarrons as "a black people which about eighty years past fled from the Spaniards their masters, by reason of their cruelty, and are since grown to a nation, under two kings of their own. The one inhabiteth to the west, the other to the east of the way from Nombre de Dios
".
, and this specific group may have been named so by Sir Francis Drake and his men.
The Cimarrons in Panama were African slaves who abandoned their Spanish masters in the mid 16th century. When brought to Panama, they intermarried with the Indians and immediately learned the land in order to outsmart the Spanish. An estimated 3,000 of them lived in Nombre de Dios, a town on the Caribbean side. Their principal settlement was at Vallano (or Bayano), 30 leagues below Nombre de Dios. Many lived in large settlements of in hideouts concealed in the inhospitable mountains. They frequently organized raids on the Spanish settlements and had threatened to burn down Nombre de Dios. They often stole treasure from the Spanish and concealed it in the river. When the Spanish once prepared to send an expedition against them, they constructed gallows on the main road and threatened to hang and decapitate the Spanish if such a mission was undertaken.
The Spanish feared that the Cimarrons would join forces with the Indians and stage a mass rebellion. To prevent this, they issued strict laws of punishment, called Ordenazas para los negros. If a slave ran away from his Spanish master and joined the Cimarron outlaws, he was to be hanged. The Indians, who were treated much better than slaves, were also punished with severity if they joined the Cimarrons.
The Cimarrones valued iron to the extent that the Spanish and English valued gold. They used iron to build the heads of their arrows which they used for hunting and for protection against the Spanish. They were also skillful in that they could very quickly prepare shelters made out of palm trees which were waterproof and could be warmed with ventilated fires. The Cimarrones were not only hunter-gatherers but rather had extensive and well-defended settlements, sometimes numbering over sixty households.
gospel to Latin America
and other "uncivilized" regions of the New World. This posed a threat to the Protestant world, namely England
, who then became involved in freeing these countries from Spanish domination. John Hawkins
of Plymouth, England became one of Queen Elizabeth
's first "sea dogs" and became involved in the African slave trade
in Spanish America. He bought, stole and captured slaves from the coast of Guinea
and carried them to the Spanish Main where he sold them. In one voyage in which he was accompanied by Sir Francis Drake, the Spanish attacked his ships but he and Drake managed to escape.
, Panama
in search of the Spanish treasure being carried from Peru
across the Isthmus of Panama
. Drake was a notorious plunderer and was active in the slave trade. While waiting for the treasure to arrive, he made contact with the Cimarrons, whom he described as “certaine valiant Negros fled from their cruel masters the Spaniards”. The first Cimarron he encountered was named Pedro Mandiga (or Mandinga), who helped guide Drake and his men across the Chagres River
to Spanish outposts. Because the Cimarrons knew the land well and despised the Spanish, they were eager to assist Drake in his pursue of the Spanish gold.
In February 1573, the Cimarrons informed Drake that the Spanish mule trains carrying the gold (also known as the flota) were sighted in Nombre de Dios and were moving across the Isthmus. Drake, guided by thirty Cimarrones through a series of hidden pathways and accompanied by John Oxenham, embarked on a journey to intercept the gold. They rose at dawn and marched until four in the afternoon. Without the help of the Cimarrons, who were clearly in charge of the path finding, Drake and his men would have never made it across the Isthmus. At one point during the journey, the Cimarrons took the English to their favorite point on a steep hill where it was possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the same time. It is clear that the Cimarrones valued the natural geographic wonders that surrounded them.
During the journey, the Cimarrons carried most of the supplies, such as bows and arrows for defense against the Spanish. Once they arrived at the spot where they planned to carry out their ambush in Nombre de Dios, a Cimarron spy was sent to the Spanish post to find out when the treasure procession would begin. He came back and reported that Treasurer of Lima was to appear on the road within the next few hours. At one point, two Cimarrons were sent to kidnap a sleeping Spanish guard and question him about the Spanish treasure. He confirmed what the English already knew and begged not to be killed. When the mule train arrived with the treasure, the Spanish saw a Cimarron hiding and quickly turned the procession around. Drake and his men still managed to ambush the train but found that it did not carry anything of much value. The Cimarrones vowed to Drake and the English that they would continue being their friends and allies.
In April, Drake and his Cimarron allies joined up with a Huguenot
party under the cartographer Guillaume Le Testu
(Tetu), who brought news of the Massacre of St Bartholomew and proffered alliance: Drake was wary, but had little choice save acceptance, since the French had more than double his resources. A new ambush was set near Nombre de Dios, this time successfully, though Le Testu was killed. Little of the massive haul of silver could be carried off, but gold to the value of 80–100,000 pesos was taken away.
The Cimarrons cared little about getting a part of the stolen gold or silver, but rather desired iron, which Drake handed over to them in plentiful amounts.
In February 1577, the Cimarrons guided John Oxenham in raiding Spanish shipping from Peru and Spanish settlements on the Pearl Islands
. During this raid, the raiders collected all the gold, silver and jewels they could, liberated seventy slaves, who were turned over to the Cimarrons, and desecrated the churches.
became the ambassador of the Cimarrones, Spain's leading New World enemies. The Spanish feared the Cimarron alliance with the English, believing it might lead to larger scale expeditions and possibly even settlement. They also believed that it might help the English reach the Pacific and steal their treasure. The English also angered the Spanish by instilling in the Cimarrons a hatred for Catholicism
and a love for Lutheranism
. Citizens of Panama wrote anxious letters to Madrid complaining about how the cimarrons were inflicting heavy damage in robbery, plunder and death. One such letter stated, "this league between the English and the Negroes is very detrimental to this kingdom, because, being so thoroughly acquainted with the region and so expert in the bush, the Negroes will show them methods and means to accomplish any evil design they may wish to carry out".
In 1577, the Spanish sent a well armed body of volunteers from Panama to invade the Cimarron settlements and burn all of their crops and villages. By 1579, when this had been accomplished, the Cimarrons agreed to settle in a large pueblo where they enjoyed some measure of self-determination under Spanish rule. This ended any plans of the English to maintain an alliance with the African slaves.
The alliance between the English and the Cimarrons did not last long and the groups soon found themselves in conflict with one another.
and to bring under English influence southern Brazil
, the Río de la Plata
, the Strait of Magellan
, Patagonia
and Chile
. Drake's travels inspired another "sea dog", Richard Hakluyt
, to propose the establishment of English naval bases in Magellan's Strait and in southern Brazil to be manned by pirates, convicts and Cimarrones.
Hakluyt's intention in constructing an overseas colony was that it would be free from tyranny and slavery with the Cimarrons as the primary colonists. He believed that the Cimarrons were “a people detesting the proud governance of the Spaniards” and so would gladly move to these new colonies by the hundreds or thousands. His thinking followed that this ideal colony would be easy to sustain without the presence of Spanish tyranny and with the willingness of the Cimarrons to live a happy and satisfied existence in the colonies. The Cimarrons would also be useful in allowing the English to access all the gold mines of Peru
.
Hakluyt also wanted to include in this colony "condemned English men and women, in whom there may be founde hope of amendment". However, nowhere did Hakluyt mention whether or not the Cimarrones would be involved in self-government like the other colonists, but nor did he say they would be held in bondage. England did not accept Hakluyt's proposal for a colony, but within five years in 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh had established the Roanoke Colony
.
Drake's alliance with the Cimarrons inspired the English to expand their forces and colonize in other areas of the globe. To the English, the Cimarrons acted as a model citizenry whom they hoped their own colonists would take after. Although a colony manned by Cimarrons never actually came into existence, the ideology of creating a colony free of racial prejudices was one in which the English intended their own colonies to constitute.
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, were enslaved
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
Africans
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
who had escaped from their Spanish masters and lived together as outlaws. In the 1570s, they allied with Sir Francis Drake of England to defeat the Spanish conquest and plunder their riches.
In Sir Francis Drake Revised (1572), Drake describes the Cimarrons as "a black people which about eighty years past fled from the Spaniards their masters, by reason of their cruelty, and are since grown to a nation, under two kings of their own. The one inhabiteth to the west, the other to the east of the way from Nombre de Dios
Nombre de Dios
Nombre de Dios is a city on the Atlantic coast of Panama in the Colón Province.Founded as a Spanish colony in 1510 by Diego de Nicuesa, it was one of the first European settlements on the Isthmus of Panama. It is the oldest continually populated town in Panama and the America mainland...
".
Etymology
The term Cimarron means "runaway slave" in Spanish and refers mainly to enslaved African who ran away from their Spanish masters. There existed many groups of slaves throughout Latin America called cimarrones or MaroonsMaroon (people)
Maroons were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America, South America, and North America, who formed independent settlements together...
, and this specific group may have been named so by Sir Francis Drake and his men.
History
Slave rebellions and uprisings in the New World were very common during the first years of exploration. Runaway slaves were prevalent in Brazil as well, where they were known as palenques, cumbes and quilombos. These runaway slaves fled from the mines and Spanish towns and built their own nearly independent towns. Such towns hosted a blend of cultures and a diversity of traditions from African, Euroamerican and Indigenous roots.The Cimarrons in Panama were African slaves who abandoned their Spanish masters in the mid 16th century. When brought to Panama, they intermarried with the Indians and immediately learned the land in order to outsmart the Spanish. An estimated 3,000 of them lived in Nombre de Dios, a town on the Caribbean side. Their principal settlement was at Vallano (or Bayano), 30 leagues below Nombre de Dios. Many lived in large settlements of in hideouts concealed in the inhospitable mountains. They frequently organized raids on the Spanish settlements and had threatened to burn down Nombre de Dios. They often stole treasure from the Spanish and concealed it in the river. When the Spanish once prepared to send an expedition against them, they constructed gallows on the main road and threatened to hang and decapitate the Spanish if such a mission was undertaken.
The Spanish feared that the Cimarrons would join forces with the Indians and stage a mass rebellion. To prevent this, they issued strict laws of punishment, called Ordenazas para los negros. If a slave ran away from his Spanish master and joined the Cimarron outlaws, he was to be hanged. The Indians, who were treated much better than slaves, were also punished with severity if they joined the Cimarrons.
The Cimarrones valued iron to the extent that the Spanish and English valued gold. They used iron to build the heads of their arrows which they used for hunting and for protection against the Spanish. They were also skillful in that they could very quickly prepare shelters made out of palm trees which were waterproof and could be warmed with ventilated fires. The Cimarrones were not only hunter-gatherers but rather had extensive and well-defended settlements, sometimes numbering over sixty households.
Context of 16th century Europe
In the 1550s, Spain was involved in a mission of spreading the CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
gospel to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and other "uncivilized" regions of the New World. This posed a threat to the Protestant world, namely England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, who then became involved in freeing these countries from Spanish domination. John Hawkins
John Hawkins
Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer and controller of the Royal Navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588...
of Plymouth, England became one of Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
's first "sea dogs" and became involved in the African slave trade
African slave trade
Systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse...
in Spanish America. He bought, stole and captured slaves from the coast of Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
and carried them to the Spanish Main where he sold them. In one voyage in which he was accompanied by Sir Francis Drake, the Spanish attacked his ships but he and Drake managed to escape.
Alliance with Sir Francis Drake
In 1572, Drake traveled to Nombre de DiosNombre de Dios
Nombre de Dios is a city on the Atlantic coast of Panama in the Colón Province.Founded as a Spanish colony in 1510 by Diego de Nicuesa, it was one of the first European settlements on the Isthmus of Panama. It is the oldest continually populated town in Panama and the America mainland...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
in search of the Spanish treasure being carried from Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
across the Isthmus of Panama
Isthmus of Panama
The Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country of Panama and the Panama Canal...
. Drake was a notorious plunderer and was active in the slave trade. While waiting for the treasure to arrive, he made contact with the Cimarrons, whom he described as “certaine valiant Negros fled from their cruel masters the Spaniards”. The first Cimarron he encountered was named Pedro Mandiga (or Mandinga), who helped guide Drake and his men across the Chagres River
Chagres River
The Chagres River is a river in central Panama. The central part of the river is dammed by the Gatun Dam and forms Gatun Lake, an artificial lake that constitutes part of the Panama Canal. Upstream lies the Madden Dam, creating the Alajuala Lake that is also part of the Canal water system...
to Spanish outposts. Because the Cimarrons knew the land well and despised the Spanish, they were eager to assist Drake in his pursue of the Spanish gold.
In February 1573, the Cimarrons informed Drake that the Spanish mule trains carrying the gold (also known as the flota) were sighted in Nombre de Dios and were moving across the Isthmus. Drake, guided by thirty Cimarrones through a series of hidden pathways and accompanied by John Oxenham, embarked on a journey to intercept the gold. They rose at dawn and marched until four in the afternoon. Without the help of the Cimarrons, who were clearly in charge of the path finding, Drake and his men would have never made it across the Isthmus. At one point during the journey, the Cimarrons took the English to their favorite point on a steep hill where it was possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the same time. It is clear that the Cimarrones valued the natural geographic wonders that surrounded them.
During the journey, the Cimarrons carried most of the supplies, such as bows and arrows for defense against the Spanish. Once they arrived at the spot where they planned to carry out their ambush in Nombre de Dios, a Cimarron spy was sent to the Spanish post to find out when the treasure procession would begin. He came back and reported that Treasurer of Lima was to appear on the road within the next few hours. At one point, two Cimarrons were sent to kidnap a sleeping Spanish guard and question him about the Spanish treasure. He confirmed what the English already knew and begged not to be killed. When the mule train arrived with the treasure, the Spanish saw a Cimarron hiding and quickly turned the procession around. Drake and his men still managed to ambush the train but found that it did not carry anything of much value. The Cimarrones vowed to Drake and the English that they would continue being their friends and allies.
In April, Drake and his Cimarron allies joined up with a Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
party under the cartographer Guillaume Le Testu
Guillaume Le Testu
Guillaume Le Testu, also called Têtu, was a 16th century French corsair, explorer and navigator during the Elizabethan age. He was a successful privateer during the early years of the French Wars of Religion...
(Tetu), who brought news of the Massacre of St Bartholomew and proffered alliance: Drake was wary, but had little choice save acceptance, since the French had more than double his resources. A new ambush was set near Nombre de Dios, this time successfully, though Le Testu was killed. Little of the massive haul of silver could be carried off, but gold to the value of 80–100,000 pesos was taken away.
The Cimarrons cared little about getting a part of the stolen gold or silver, but rather desired iron, which Drake handed over to them in plentiful amounts.
In February 1577, the Cimarrons guided John Oxenham in raiding Spanish shipping from Peru and Spanish settlements on the Pearl Islands
Pearl Islands
The Pearl Islands are a group of 100 or more islands lying about off the Pacific coast of Panama in the Gulf of Panama.- Islands :...
. During this raid, the raiders collected all the gold, silver and jewels they could, liberated seventy slaves, who were turned over to the Cimarrons, and desecrated the churches.
Spanish response
DrakeFrancis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
became the ambassador of the Cimarrones, Spain's leading New World enemies. The Spanish feared the Cimarron alliance with the English, believing it might lead to larger scale expeditions and possibly even settlement. They also believed that it might help the English reach the Pacific and steal their treasure. The English also angered the Spanish by instilling in the Cimarrons a hatred for Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and a love for Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
. Citizens of Panama wrote anxious letters to Madrid complaining about how the cimarrons were inflicting heavy damage in robbery, plunder and death. One such letter stated, "this league between the English and the Negroes is very detrimental to this kingdom, because, being so thoroughly acquainted with the region and so expert in the bush, the Negroes will show them methods and means to accomplish any evil design they may wish to carry out".
In 1577, the Spanish sent a well armed body of volunteers from Panama to invade the Cimarron settlements and burn all of their crops and villages. By 1579, when this had been accomplished, the Cimarrons agreed to settle in a large pueblo where they enjoyed some measure of self-determination under Spanish rule. This ended any plans of the English to maintain an alliance with the African slaves.
The alliance between the English and the Cimarrons did not last long and the groups soon found themselves in conflict with one another.
English reputation
This alliance shed light on how the English viewed themselves and their role in the New World. While Indians in other areas of the New World (such as Hispaniola) were being treated poorly by European masters, and other nations were actively engaged in the slave trade, the English prided themselves on the thought that they were “liberators” who allied with these black slaves against the Spanish. Such an alliance seemed to say that the English were free of racial prejudices, even though they were actively involved in the slave trade themselves.Formation of the American colonies
The news of Sir Francis Drake's adventures and alliances with the Cimarrons was reaching England and the Western world. It was clear that what Drake and the English had in mind was to establish the nation as a colonial power south of the Tropic of CapricornTropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent.Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five...
and to bring under English influence southern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
, the Strait of Magellan
Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...
, Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Drake's travels inspired another "sea dog", Richard Hakluyt
Richard Hakluyt
Richard Hakluyt was an English writer. He is principally remembered for his efforts in promoting and supporting the settlement of North America by the English through his works, notably Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America and The Principal Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and...
, to propose the establishment of English naval bases in Magellan's Strait and in southern Brazil to be manned by pirates, convicts and Cimarrones.
Hakluyt's intention in constructing an overseas colony was that it would be free from tyranny and slavery with the Cimarrons as the primary colonists. He believed that the Cimarrons were “a people detesting the proud governance of the Spaniards” and so would gladly move to these new colonies by the hundreds or thousands. His thinking followed that this ideal colony would be easy to sustain without the presence of Spanish tyranny and with the willingness of the Cimarrons to live a happy and satisfied existence in the colonies. The Cimarrons would also be useful in allowing the English to access all the gold mines of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
Hakluyt also wanted to include in this colony "condemned English men and women, in whom there may be founde hope of amendment". However, nowhere did Hakluyt mention whether or not the Cimarrones would be involved in self-government like the other colonists, but nor did he say they would be held in bondage. England did not accept Hakluyt's proposal for a colony, but within five years in 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh had established the Roanoke Colony
Roanoke Colony
The Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island in Dare County, present-day North Carolina, United States was a late 16th-century attempt to establish a permanent English settlement in what later became the Virginia Colony. The enterprise was financed and organized by Sir Walter Raleigh and carried out by...
.
Drake's alliance with the Cimarrons inspired the English to expand their forces and colonize in other areas of the globe. To the English, the Cimarrons acted as a model citizenry whom they hoped their own colonists would take after. Although a colony manned by Cimarrons never actually came into existence, the ideology of creating a colony free of racial prejudices was one in which the English intended their own colonies to constitute.