Negros y Esclavos Archives
Documentary heritage submitted by Colombia and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2005.
The archive collection entitled “Negros y Esclavos” that forms part of the documentary assets of the ‘Archivo General de la Nación’ contains extensive and very important testimonial information about the development of the African slave trade in the ‘Neogranadino’ territory. The collection is composed of 55 files, equivalent to approximately 55,000 sheets of paper, that refer not only to the history of Colombia, but also that of Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
New slaves were sent to the different Spanish colonies in South America from the port of Cartagena, which therefore documented information about slaves and their treatment. Regrettably, most documents produced in Cartagena during that period - 16th to 18th centuries, have disappeared. The ‘Archivo General de la Nacion’ together with the archives of the ‘General de Indias de Sevilla’, preserves the remaining documents on this topic.