The history of colonialism in Colombia
Spanish settlers first arrived in Colombia at the beginning of the 16th century. European settlers often presented coffee to indigenous communities, including countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, as a profitable and usable crop.Shortly after, the coffee arrived. It is believed that the first record of coffee production in Colombia appears in the book of the missionary priest José Gumilla in 1741.
Coffee production in many countries has an inherent link to colonialism but indigenous communities have arguably suffered the most severe forms of exploitation. In many cases, these groups were forced to leave their homelands to move to areas where coffee production was more profitable for colonial powers.
Even today, even though many of these former colonies have become independent, the structural problems caused by colonialism remain serious for indigenous coffee producers.
Of Colombia’s many coffee-growing regions, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the departments of Antioquia, Caldas and Nariño are home to several indigenous coffee-producing communities.
The Lisardo tribe is located near Ciudad Bolívar, in Antioquia, but the group actually originates from the Chocó department, in western Colombia. The Emberá are the third largest indigenous population in Colombia, with about 71,000 inhabitants.
Lisardo explains how coffee became an important crop for the Emberá tribe.
“When my tribe was expelled from Chocó and emigrated to Antioquia, we arrived at the coffee fields,” he says. “From there, we understood coffee as a commercial crop and a source of income for our community. Since then, we have adapted to the challenges of coffee production.”
Although this story is particular to the Emberá Chami tribe, each of Colombia’s indigenous coffee communities has their own personal experience with growing and selling coffee. Other indigenous tribes, such as the Arhuacos of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Awá of Nariño, also began producing coffee due to colonialism.
