B39 Puerto Colombia, Aragua VENEZUELA c1848

The slaves went to an “out of the way place.” These cumbes were sites of resistance, the new kingdoms of Black liberation. El Negro Miguel was their king, having established a cumbe in the hills near Buría in 1552. They lived in a constant state of war with the occupying Spanish. Although eventually defeated, their legacy continued in later slave revolts of 1732, 1747, 1794, 1795, 1799, and in Venezuela’s eventual war for independence in 1810.     

. . . our intention in studying maroons is to show the lack of truth in the view that portrays the colony as a haven of peace. . . . the slaves used every available means to attain their freedom.

— Miguel Acosta Saignes, “Life in a Venezuelan Cumbe,” 1996

back to All