{"id":7939,"date":"2024-08-31T23:34:39","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T21:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.streetpepper.de\/worldtravel\/?p=7939"},"modified":"2024-09-04T22:50:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T20:50:35","slug":"popayan-and-the-spaniards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.streetpepper.de\/worldtravel\/2024\/08\/31\/popayan-and-the-spaniards\/","title":{"rendered":"Popayan and the Spaniards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Popayan I realise for the first time for real what colonialism means and that dealing with it is not as easy as I would like it to be. It cannot be undone. Should the city they founded be razed to the ground? Should the purely indigenous peoples get back everything that was stolen from them? When does a Colombian belong to the indigenous peoples? Of course there were intermarriages between the indigenous peoples and the Spanish. The slave trade and de facto chattel slavery were the greatest atrocities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spanish wreaked havoc in South America<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is almost surprising that people are not angrier at these colonisers. “Discovered” by two Spaniards in 1499, many more Spaniards travelled to Colombia in the following centuries. That also came here to search for gold and other precious stones. In 1538, the Spaniards made the country their colony. It was not until 1810 that Colombia declared its independence from Spain.  The Spaniards founded the first trading ports, such as Cartagena. Driven by their greed for gold, they advanced into the interior of the country. Among other things, they passed through the valley of the R\u00edo Magdalena and founded cities such as Popay\u00e1n. Cartagena had the dubious privilege of being the exclusive slave trading port from which these slaves were distributed throughout the colony. At the beginning of the 17th century, so many black Africans were shipped to Cartagena that their number exceeded that of the indigenous population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Church<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A central role in the development of Spanish colonial society was played by the Catholic Church, which was responsible for all institutions of education and social policy. This church has been under the control of the Spanish crown. So when we visit Colombia today and see all these beautiful cities, it has more to do with colonialism than with the people who originally lived on Colombian territory. And of course we don’t just find one or two churches only in these places. Their power is clearly on display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

80 per cent of the world’s gold production in the 17th century came from Colombia. Indians worked in the gold mines, many of whom died of weakness and the diseases brought in by the Europeans. After that, the work was mostly done by African slaves who could be bought in the port of Cartagena. Colombia is one of the states created by the break-up of Greater Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ethnic groups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over 80 ethnic groups make up the country’s indigenous population. They all have their own eating habits and different art and music traditions. In addition to the national language Spanish, over 65 other languages can be heard. Children from the age of 6 to 12 are required to attend school. However, there is a great shortage of teachers, especially in rural areas. Children from very poor families go to work to help their parents instead of attending school. Many thousands of street children fight every day for food and a safe place to sleep. We see none of this in the centre of Popayan, but in the outskirts and on our further journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Popayan\"<\/figure>
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But what we see is the fight against injustice on the streets in the form of street art. One of these supposed Spanish heroes was torn from the pedestal of his monument by the indigenous people of Popayan. This pedestal with an indigenous person can now be found in streetart. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What comes after Popayan for us<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We will continue our journey along the Rio Magdalena river valley. Marveling at one or two beautiful places full of colonial architecture. I won’t forget the injustice done to people to create these places. Visiting this country as a privileged foreigner in Colombia comes with responsibilities. We are the privileged foreigners. And that doesn’t change just because we are travelling by bicycle. This splendour in Popayan is due to exploitation and abuse by Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital nomads and travel companies portray Colombia as “one of the cheapest countries to live and work in”. The locals suffer from this inequality (e.g. gentrification). Colombia is one of the ten countries with the lowest cost of living in the world. As a foreigner in Colombia, you should keep this in mind, especially as someone from Europe. Given the fact that Europeans have exploited and abused Colombia (and the global south in general) in the past, it is especially advisable to consider the optics and impact of your presence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We decided to take a car with the bicycles on the roof to Neiva and from there continue cycling. The area we have to pass through is still in the hands of rebels and the drug mafia. Colombians themselves call it the “war zone”. We didn’t want to find out whether we would have been affected or not. And there would have been only a bus, which would have taken us to one of the big cities and that wasn’t an option either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We enjoy our time in Popayan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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