Afro-Colombians refer to people of African descent in Colombia who have had a significant impact on Colombian culture. They made up a large portion of Simon Bolivar's army that fought for independence from Spain. While slavery was not abolished until 1851, discrimination continued even after emancipation. Today, Afro-Colombians make up approximately 21% of Colombia's population and are concentrated along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, as well as in some larger cities. Their history begins with the importation of African slaves by the Spanish starting in the 1500s to work in mines, plantations, and other industries.

1. Afro-colombians

2. Afro colombiansreferstoColombians of africanancestry, theyhavehad a greatimpactoncolombian culture. Someafrocolombians are Piedad Córdoba, Luis Gilberto Murillo and Vanessa Mendoza. Colombia is considered to have the third largest Black/African-descent population in the western hemisphere, following Brazil and the USA.

3. *African people played key roles in the independence struggle against Spain. Historians note that three of every five soldiers in Simon Bolívar's army were African. Not only that, Afro-Colombians also participated at all levels of military and political life. *Slavery was not abolished until 1851, and even after emancipation, the life of the African Colombians was very difficult. *From 1851, the Colombian State promoted the ideology of mestizaje , or miscegenation. *Afro-Colombians and indigenous people were, and continue to be, the targets of the armed actors. *n 1945 the department of El Chocó was created; it was the first predominantly African political-administrative division. El Chocó gave African people the possibility of building an African territorial identity and some autonomous decision.

4. DEMOGRAPHICS *Only around 25%, or 3 million people, are based in rural areas, compared to 75%, or 9 million people in urban zones. The 1991 Colombian Constitution gave them the right to collective ownership of traditional Pacific coastal lands and special cultural development protections. *Available estimates range from 4.4 to 10.5 million Afro-Colombians. *Afro-Colombians make up approximately 21% (9,154,537) of the population according to a projection of the National Administration Department of Statistics (DANE). *They are concentrated on the northwest Caribbean coast and the Pacific coast in such departments as Chocó. *Considerable numbers are also in Cali,Cartagena, and Barranquilla.

5. HISTORY African slaves began being imported by the spaniards in the first decade of the 16th century. By the 1520s, Africans were being imported into Colombia steadily to replace the rapidly declining native american population. They were forced to work in gold mines, on sugar cane plantations, cattle ranches, and large haciendas. African labor was essential in all the regions of Colombia even until modern times. African workers pioneered the extracting of alluvial gold deposits and the growing of sugar cane in western Colombia . Many Afro-Colombian slaves fought for their freedom as soon as they arrived in Colombia. There were strong free Black African towns called palenques.