History and Background
Most Afro-Ecuadorians are the descendants of slaves which originally arrived in Ecuador from the early 16th century. In 1533, the first African slaves reached Ecuador in Quito when a slave ship heading to Peru was stranded off the Ecuadorian coast. The slaves escaped and established maroon settlements in Esmeraldas, which became a safe haven as many slaves either escaped to there or were forced to live there. Eventually, they started moving from their traditional homeland and were settling everywhere in Ecuador.
Racism deeply ingrained from the Spanish colonial era is still found; Afro-Ecuadorians are strongly discriminated against by the mestizo and criollo populations. Poverty is rampant amongst them. Many Afro-Ecuadorians have participated in sports, for instance playing with the Ecuadorian national football team. After slavery was abolished in 1851, blacks became marginalized in Ecuador, dominated by the white plantation owners.
Afro-Ecuadorians live all over the country but there are two places of historic presence which are Esmeraldas province and the Chota Valley in Imbabura province. There is a strong presence in Quito and Guayaquil which have neighborhoods with high afro-Ecuadorian populations and also Ibarra.
Read more about this topic: Afro Ecuadorian
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