Bayano And The Bayano Wars

Bayano Wars
Part of North American slave revolts
Date 1548–1558 and 1579–1582 Location Isthmus of Panama Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spanish Empire	Bayanos of Panama
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Bayano †
Strength
Unknown	1552: 1,200[1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Bayano Wars were armed conflicts in the Isthmus of Panama that occurred between the Bayano of Panama and the Spanish crown. The First War of the Bayano took place from 1548 to 1558, while the Second War took place from 1579 and 1582.^[2] Slavery, practiced since the early sixteenth century in Panama, brought many enslaved people from Africa to Spanish America. This brought successive slave uprisings against the rulers of the time, which was the origin for the Bayano Wars.

Upon the prompt introduction of African slaves by the Spanish into the New World, a swift emergence of open revolts ensued among these captives. Illustrative of this resistance were the Cimarrones, exemplifying a trend that proliferated across the Caribbean and Central America during the 16th Century. Enslaved Africans transported to Spanish colonies sought refuge in the wilderness, forming cohesive communities that occasionally abstained from interaction with their erstwhile captors. However, more frequently, these fugitives armed themselves and engaged in guerrilla campaigns against their former masters.^[1]

In Panama, entire populations of slaves sought liberation from captivity by establishing autonomous colonies in the jungles. Notably, their struggles against the Spanish garnered support from local indigenous tribes and even found alignment with Spain's European adversaries, such as the English privateer Francis Drake. King Bayano emerged as a prominent figure among the Cimarrones. In 1552, leading a force of up to 1,200 fugitives, Bayano established a palenque, or slave sanctuary, instigating a protracted war against the Spaniards spanning five years.^[1][3]

Historical accounts attest to the democratic nature of the palenque named Ronconcholon. Remarkably, it accommodated a mosque for the Muslim slaves within the community. Some members of the group were purportedly Christians, having undergone conversion by their masters. Subsequently, the Spanish forces overwhelmed Ronconcholon, recapturing numerous slaves, including Bayano himself. Transferred to South America, Bayano endured captivity until his demise. In contemporary Panama, King Bayano is reverently regarded as a hero, with a river named in his honor, perpetuating his legacy.^[1]

Bayano, also known as Ballano or Vaino, was an African enslaved by Portuguese who led the biggest slave revolts of the 16th century Panama. Captured from the Yoruba community in West Africa, it has been argued that his name means idol.^[1] Different tales tell of their revolt in 1552 beginning either on the ship en route, or after landing in Panama's Darien province along its modern-day border with Colombia. Rebel slaves, known as cimarrones, or maroons, set up autonomous regions known as palenques, many of which successfully fended off Spanish control for centuries using guerrilla war and alliances with pirates, or indigenous nations who were in similar circumstances.

Bayano's forces numbered between four and twelve hundred Cimarrons, depending upon different sources, and set up a palenque known as Ronconcholon near modern-day Chepo River, also known as Rio Bayano. They fought their guerrilla war for over five years while building their community. However, the most important primary source, written in 1581 by Pedro de Aguado, devotes space to their religious life, and describes the activities of a "bishop" who guided the community in prayer, baptized them, and delivered sermons, in a manner that Aguado believed to be essentially Christian.^[2] The Spaniards, with Captain Carreño at their head, managed to destroy Rolcolcholon and after a surprise attack managed to capture Bayano himself, who was taken by Captain Carreño to Governor Sosa who was then in Nombre de Dios. The conciliatory Governor forgave Bayano his crimes and robberies and signed a peace agreement with him, setting him free. It only served to allow him to continue his campaigns of robberies and assaults with more viciousness than before.^[3]

In 1556, the newly appointed Viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Cañete, commissioned Pedro de Ursua to attack and defeat Bayano. With few Spaniards willing to go on the expedition, the viceroy authorized the conscription of criminals to bolster the Spanish forces.^[4] Initial engagements favored the Cimarrons who engaged in hit-and-run tactics to harass the Spanish. After reaching Bayano's main settlement, Ursua entreated under flag of truce. Ursua offered to free Bayano and his people and relocate them nearer to Nombre de Dios. After both sides agreed, Ursua proposed a feast to celebrate the occasion. Having brought a special poison, Ursua secretly drugged Bayano and his captains. When the leaders were stupefied by the drug the Spaniards attacked killing and capturing many maroons. Bayano was captured alive. Many maroons evaded the Spanish remaining at large.^[5]

Bayano was sent by the president of Panama to the viceroy of Peru who received him with curiosity to see who and how was the man who had remained for so long in opposition to the authorities, and treated him very courteously, sending him to Spain where he remained until the end of his days in the city of Seville, maintained at the expense of the Royal Treasury for life.^[6]

Bayano's name has become immortal in the Panamanian consciousness through the naming of a major river, a lake, a valley, a dam, and several companies after him.

• Bayano Wars