The 1693 Cartagena Slave Revolt: Palenque Liberty in New Granada

In 1693, a carefully planned uprising by enslaved Africans in Cartagena de Indias shook the Spanish colonial port and led to the creation of one of the most successful maroon communities in the Americas: San Basilio de Palenque. This episode unpacks the revolt itself—how leaders like Benkos Biohó organized hundreds of escapees across the swamps and forests of what is now Colombia—and the complex peace treaty that granted them freedom in exchange for ending attacks on Spanish settlements. We explore the role of Kongo and West Central African cultural traditions in palenque life, the politics of colonial negotiation, and how the community survives today as a UNESCO-recognized symbol of resistance. Along the way, we look at the asiento system that flooded Cartagena with captives, the brutal labor on gold mines and sugar plantations, and the surprising legal status of palenques under Spanish law. This is a story not just of rebellion but of a viable free society carved from the slave trade's heart. #CartagenaDeIndias #BenkosBioho #SanBasiliodPalenque #SlaveRevolt #Maroons #Palenque #NewGranada #KongoDiaspora #SpanishColonial #Asiento #GoldMines #UNESCO #Resistance #17thCentury #AtlanticSlaveTrade #Colombia #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo