History of the Kuna

The Kuna have had a long and varied history of contact with Europeans, beginning in the early 1500's with the arrival of the Spanish. Reconstructions would seem to indicate that the Kuna lived along inland waterways and had a mixed survival strategy based on farming, hunting, fishing, and collecting. The social structure is thought to have been one of highly stratified villages, each with its own chief, nobles, commoners, and slaves. Warfare was probably common, especially against the neighboring Choco and Catio people.

The arrival of the Spanish opened a period of deculturation and decimation. Many Kuna were killed in warfare or by European diseases, and the Spanish used harsh measures in extracting tribute and labor from the indigenous populations. Often the Kuna allied themselves with the British against the Spanish. This pattern of hostility toward Spanish-speakers, contrasted with amicable relations with English-speakers, has continued in modern times. After independence from Spain, the Kuna eventually aligned themselves with Panama rather than Colombia. In 1925 they staged a rebellion, which resulted in the San Blas area becoming a largely autonomous Kuna reserve within the Republic of Panama, a political status it still holds today. The Kuna in the twentieth century are undergoing a population increase, and, although remaining somewhat outside the mainstream of Panamanian society, they are increasingly influenced by Western culture.

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