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Afro-Descendant Participation in Uruguayan Military

 

 

In 1811 Uruguay won its independence from Spain, however it was not without the help of many men from the Afro-descendant population. Many Afro-Uruguayans, both freed men and slaves, were forcibly enlisted in the military due to a severe lack of manpower. The Sixth Regiment of El Cerrito and Los Liberto Orientales were two of the most famous regiments during the early nineteenth century, and both were predominantly black regiments (Appiah 1999, 1928).

 

In 1828 Uruguay gained independence from Brazil, again with the aid of Afro-Uruguayan men. The regiment Immortal Thirty-Three is well known for having been instrumental in Uruguay’s success, however the fact that Afro-Uruguayans were an integral part of the Immortal Thirty-Three is often forgotten (1929). Afro-Uruguayans and mulato soldiers were forcibly conscripted throughout the rest of the 1800s in the Guerra Grande civil war, the Paraguayan War, and other military conflicts. They were also at a large disadvantage once enlisted, as the majority of the commanding officers were white, which ultimately led to the treatment and punishment of enlisted Afro-Uruguayan soldiers to be reminiscent of slavery. Afro-Uruguayan soldiers were often given the most dangerous positions, along with the worst food, equipment, and treatment (1929). While Afro-Uruguayan soldiers were promised their freedom or equal rights for fighting depending on when they fought, they often found that after surviving the war, they were retained as soldiers and required to serve up to ten or twenty years beyond their original enlistment, their freedom not received as promised (Andrews, 34).

History of Afro-Descendants in Montevideo

The most famous Afro-Uruguayan soldier in Uruguayan history was Ansina, the loyal confidant and strategist of General JosĆ© Gervasio Artigas (RodrĆ­guez 321). Artigas, who is often referred to as the father of Uruguay for his fighting for the nation’s independence, fled to Paraguay in 1820, followed only by his most loyal soldiers (321). According to Roberto Pacheco in the Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora, Ansina ā€œbecame a national symbol of the heroism and fidelity of African Uruguayan recruits in the armies of Uruguayan independence and beyondā€ (91). In 1939 the remains of Ansina were repatriated to Uruguay where his body was ā€œinterred next to Artigas’s in the National Pantheonā€ (Andrews 202). Many Afro-Uruguayan organizations have been named after him and a statue in Montevideo stands in his honor (RodrĆ­guez 321).

One interesting note about Ansina is the disagreement about his true identity. In our research we came across three separate names, Manuel Antonio Ledesma, JoaquĆ­n Lenzina, and Antonio Ledesma. Most sources state these names as fact, however the Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora acknowledges the confusion and dispute over Ansina’s true identity (90-1). Rout, in The African Experience in Spanish America refers to him as ā€œfaithful Arsenaā€ which leads to confusion over not only his true identity, but his famous monicker as well (Rout 170).

Ansina Monument in Montevideo; Owner: Vanesa Valdez; Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAnsina_IV.JPG

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