On oil canvas under the title Esmeralda’s mulattoes, located in the Museo de América in Madrid—part of the Museo del Prado collection—by indigenous painter Andrés Sánchez Gallque, depicts Francisco de Arobe and his two sons wearing Spanish capes with indigenous decorations, holding African spears. Three cultures are vividly depicted: European, American and African, as well as the subjugation of a part of the Maroon population to the crown. It is a Mannerist style painting, unique in its context not only in quality, but also in subject matter.

IN the newspaper On October 12, 2013, I published an article from Nicaragua entitled: The presence of the black race in America. There I mention the bringing to Nicaragua of a black slave named Andrés Mangache who managed to escape with a Nicaraguan native woman, organizing a society known as the Mangaches.

Miguel Cabellos de Balboa mentions a Spanish ship from Nicaragua, which arrived in San Mateo Bay, in the Esmeraldas province of northwestern Ecuador.

Upon arrival, Andrés Mangache flees. He brings an Indian woman, probably from the Nicarao ethnic group or who could have been Chorotega, Matagalpa or Rama.

An Indian woman from Nicaragua gave birth, in the country of Doda — where Chief Chilindaula gave them asylum — two children: Juan and Francisco. Juan kept the last name Mangache, and Francisco was later baptized as Francisco de Arobe.

In 1553, other blacks from Panama arrived in Las Esmeraldas, who, taking advantage of the shipwreck that occurred in Ensenada de Portete, also managed to escape. Among them is Alonso Ilescas.

Mangaci and Ilesci contested the hegemony and control of the natives in the provinces of Esmeraldas.

The conflicts were overcome years later thanks to the fact that Juan Mangache married the daughter of Ilescas.

The Mangaci settled in San Mateo Bay, in the north, and the Ilesci in Cabo Pasado, in the south.

Francisco de Arobe was always accommodating to the Spanish and cooperated with the shipwrecks that occurred. In that region he was known as “Captain San Mateo”. In 1578, he allowed himself to be baptized and allowed the construction of a church in San Mateo Bay.

Palenque Ilescas was called the Kingdom of Zambos. It was an impregnable territorial enclave, in which they managed to maintain their autonomy for a while.

In 1577, Cabellos de Balboa was commissioned to baptize the Indians and blacks of Esmeraldas and to open a road between the center of Spanish power in Quito and the Pacific coast.

The Ilesci always resisted the Spanish penetration. However, with the arrival of a new oidor, Juan del Barrio Sepúlveda, in 1596 the policy of conquest changed, using words and religion to control the region instead of war.

In 1598, the missionary Gaspar Torres along with other Indians arrived in Quito to help reduce the Esmeraldas. In 1599, Francisco de Arobe arrived with his sons: Pedro and Domingo, the main caciques, to confirm their loyalty and cooperate in pacification. According to the records of the secretary of the royal court, Aroba, his children and the Indians gave peace and obedience to the king.

Through the so-called document Royal decree of pardon and provision for Ilescas, the authorities responded to requests that had previously been denied to the black leader. Ilescas decided to turn to the authorities.

This pacification was reflected in the painting of Sánchez Gallque, sent to King Felipe III.

A gift representing the new subjects: three maroons (of Afro-Caravan origin) who, according to the hats in their hands, recognized the authority of the monarch.

Alonso Ilescas is considered the greatest hero of Afro-Ecuadorian freedom. In 1977, the Ecuadorian government recognized him as a national hero.

Francisco de Arobe along with his children—descendants of a fugitive black man and a native Nicaraguan woman—achieved the rapprochement desired by the Spanish, helping to consolidate the region.

The peace that paved the way for the civilization and Christianization of our natives, who, like the controversial Malinche, will serve as a bridge for the Spanish conquest. (OR)