English Colombians

**English Colombians** refers to Colombians of English ancestry, They have been coming to Colombia since colonial times when they arrived as pirates and adventurers.

## History

The first known English, if not buried in the Colombian lands, the maritime waters of the future republic, was Admiral Sir Francis Drake, who died in 1595 aboard his ship in the bay of Nombre de Dios, Darién. Pirates, smugglers and heretics: the second dead man with his own name was a certain Adam Edon, tried in 1622 by the Inquisition in Cartagena. Half atheist, stubborn, with some reluctance they burned him. The few other Englishmen, vague sailors who appear in that file, easily fixed their Anglican consciences, converted to Rome and stayed in the country without being disturbed.

The first organized English incursion was taking and colonizing of the Providence Island by so called Providence Island Company, an association of freeboot speculators among whom were many of the opponents of the ill-fated King Charles I. They had more success in overthrowing the king, who lost his head in 1649, that in his island company, which was soon abandoned.

The first small society of English legally established in the country was the South Sea Company, resident in its factory the name still lives on Calle de la Factoría in Cartagena, at the beginning of the 18th century. By a treaty between England and Spain, the company enjoyed the 'right to seat', the monopoly to introduce slaves to the American empire, and a significant number of Colombians owe to the activities of these the arrival of their ancestors.

In addition, they obtained a permit to send an annual merchandise ship. They smuggled as much as possible, but their notes show that the natives matched them in vividness. One of them, in a substantial business, was knocked down by the superior of the Jesuits.

Afterwards, many Englishmen arrive in mass numbers. With Independence, merchants came with the illusion of making quick and easy fortunes in the great market of Gran Colombia. Soon, almost everyone was disappointed: Colombia did not have much to offer the world market and its commercial rhythms were very slow. Although almost until the First World War, England, because of the strength of its cloth industry, was the main trading partner of the country, the importers in Colombia were native, not English. First they were supplied from Jamaica, and soon directly from the industrial centers of England. Over here came one or another traveling agent, with his suitcases of samples.

But not many Britons entered the closed Spanish empire before Independence. Numerous were those of the British Legion, thousands of mercenary volunteers (most of them, Irish), among them veterans of the Napoleonic wars who came to serve in the patriotic armies of Bolivar.

There were also speculators in mines. The British exploited mines in Santa Ana, Tolima (now municipality of Falan), in Frías, in Marmato and in other parts of Antioquia. For 50 years, before leaving the mine in 1874, they invested half a million pounds sterling in the Santa Ana mine, but the shareholders never received a dividend. They did better in Antioquia, where certain engineers left a good reputation, such as Tyrell Moore. Some who came as miners, then invested in coffee. The English, at the time of our empire, we were very busy in other parts of the world, and from our islands the great flows of emigrants went to Australia, Canada, the United States, temperate countries with great demand for labor. Occasionally, British diplomats in Bogota had to inform London about Colombia as a possible destination for emigration. "Nice country, they answered, but low salaries, surplus labor and, to a large extent, too tropical.

## English Colony in Colombia

The English colony began to settle in Bogota with the arrival of the British Legion who came to fight in the Libertador's army, whose officers were linked to the main families of the capital.