Bayano, also known as Ballano or Vaino, was an African enslaved by Portuguese who led the biggest slave revolts of the 16th century Panama.
[1] Different tales tell of their revolt in 1552 beginning either on the ship en route, or after landing in Panama's Darien province along its modern-day border with Colombia.
Rebel slaves, known as cimarrones, or maroons, set up autonomous regions known as palenques, many of which successfully fended off Spanish control for centuries using guerrilla war and alliances with pirates, or indigenous nations who were in similar circumstances.
The conciliatory Governor forgave Bayano his crimes and robberies and signed a peace agreement with him, setting him free.
[3] In 1556, the newly appointed Viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Cañete, commissioned Pedro de Ursua to attack and defeat Bayano.