Benkos Biohó

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Benkos Biohó
Liberator
(late 16th century-1621)
Colombia

Benkos Biohó, the former African king of what is now partly Guinea-Bissau, escaped from the slave port of Cartagena, Colombia with ten others. He went on to form an army of escaped Africans. They conquered the area around the Montes de María and founded San Basilio de Palenque circa 1600. Eventually, the Spanish offered Biohó a peace treaty, which the Spaniards violated by 1619 when they captured Biohó and hanged and quartered him on March 16, 1621. San Basilio de Palenque became the first free town for formerly enslaved Africans in the Americas in 1691.

“I was inspired, after reading the history of the enslaved African's revolt in Colombia lead by Benko Biohó, to visually interpret the revolt using ink, pencil, and coffee as my media. Coffee is a major export for the South American country, and I wanted the image to be connected to the history of the people as well as the land; that's is why I decided to use coffee as a medium.”

- Artist Hampton R. Olfus, Jr.

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