Afro-Paraguayan

Afro-Paraguayan are Paraguayans of African descent. They can be found in Camba Cua outside Asuncion; Kamba Kokue outside of Paraguari, and the city of Emboscada.Currently, the Afro-Paraguayan population accounts for 2% of the total population.

History

The first African slaves arrived at Paraguay in 1556. The majority of the slaves were of Nigerian and Angolan origin, like other black people from any South American country. Thus, according to Argentine historian José Ignacio Telesca, the slaves that entered legally came from the esclavistas ports of Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Córdoba, while those that entered illegally came from Brazil. Thus, the Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza - who reached the Rio de Plata in the 16th century and was appointed its viceroy - brought enslaved Africans to Paraguay to settle them in that place. According to the aforementioned Telesca, more than 4% of the population were slaves in colonial times, keeping the same percentage in the 19th century after independence. However, according to the Kamba Cuá "Afro Paraguayan Association", in 1782, the black population represented 11.2 percent of the total population of the then Province of Paraguay.