[2] Slavery, practiced since the early sixteenth century in Panama, brought many enslaved people from Africa to Spanish America.

Enslaved Africans transported to Spanish colonies sought refuge in the wilderness, forming cohesive communities that occasionally abstained from interaction with their erstwhile captors.

Notably, their struggles against the Spanish garnered support from local indigenous tribes and even found alignment with Spain's European adversaries, such as the English privateer Francis Drake.

In 1552, leading a force of up to 1,200 fugitives, Bayano established a palenque, or slave sanctuary, instigating a protracted war against the Spaniards spanning five years.

In contemporary Panama, King Bayano is reverently regarded as a hero, with a river named in his honor, perpetuating his legacy.