Uchicho

Uchicho
King of the Afro-Bolivians
Coronation	1823
Predecessor	Monarchy established
Successor	Bonifaz Pinedo
Born	Kingdom of Kongo
House	Pinedo

Uchico was the first King of the Afro-Bolivians. He was captured and brought to Bolivia as a slave around 1820. He was crowned as Afro-Bolivian king in 1823.

Biography

Uchicho was born in either the Kingdom of Kongo or Senegal into a tribal royal family. He was captured and enslaved and brought to Upper Peru, a province of the Spanish Empire, around 1820.[1][2] He was enslaved by the Marquis de Pinedo at an hacienda in the Los Yungas.[3]

Allegedly, Uchicho bore tribal marks only held by royalty, and was therefore recognized by other slaves as a prince.[4]

Uchicho was crowned King of the Afro-Bolivians by the slave community in 1823.[2][1] Two years later, slavery was abolished in Bolivia. Uchicho was succeeded as king by Bonifaz, who later adopted the surname Pinedo from the plantation owner.[1]

Legacy

The Royal Order of Merit of Prince Uchicho, the Afro-Bolivian monarchy's official dynastic order of merit founded in 2012, is named after him.[5]

References

1. "Web Oficial de la Casa Real Afroboliviana". www.casarealafroboliviana.org.
2. Rodríguez, Andrés (November 14, 2016). "The last king of the Americas". EL PAÍS English.
3. Rodríguez, Andres (January 19, 2018). "El retorno del rey negro boliviano a sus raíces africanas". El País – via elpais.com.
4. Busqué, Jordi (11 March 2021). "Bolivia's little-known tribal kingdom". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
5. "Real Orden del Mérito". Afro-Bolivian Royal House. Retrieved 3 May 2024.