Uchicho

Uchico was the first King of the Afro-Bolivians. He was captured and brought to Bolivia as a slave around 1820. He was crowned as Afro-Bolivian king in 1823.

Uchicho
King of the Afro-Bolivians
Coronation	1823
Predecessor	Monarchy established
Successor	Bonifaz Pinedo
Born	Kingdom of Kongo
House	Pinedo

Biography

Uchicho was born in either the Kingdom of Kongo or Senegal into a tribal royal family. He was captured and enslaved and brought to Upper Peru, a province of the Spanish Empire, around 1820.^[1][2] He was enslaved by the Marquis de Pinedo at an hacienda in the Los Yungas.^[3]

Allegedly, Uchicho bore tribal marks only held by royalty, and was therefore recognized by other slaves as a prince.^[4]

Uchicho was crowned King of the Afro-Bolivians by the slave community in 1823.^[2][1] Two years later, slavery was abolished in Bolivia. Uchicho was succeeded as king by Bonifaz, who later adopted the surname Pinedo from the plantation owner.^[1]

Legacy

The Royal Order of Merit of Prince Uchicho, the Afro-Bolivian monarchy's official dynastic order of merit founded in 2012, is named after him.^[5]