Which country has historically been the most progressive on racial issues?

[Tooting Carmen]

IMO, a good candidate would in fact be my mother's native Colombia.

- Not long after independence, the Colombian Parliament passed a law saying that any child who was half slave/half slaveowner was automatically freeborn, as opposed to the prior notion that it was up to the discretion of the slaveowner.

- Unlike the USA and to a lesser degree even Brazil, Colombia did not restrict Black people's rights regarding voting, property and sexual relations once slavery was abolished, nor did it show much interest in eugenics.

- The Black middle class in Cartagena and Santa Marta is one of the oldest in the world, and has particularly benefited from the emeralds, diamonds and silver industries.

- Much more generally, most Colombians are mixed between White, Black and Amerindian, and only a small percentage of the population come close to being anything like 'pure' of any race.

[Bellbeaking]

I personally would say Columbia is a good candidate.

[Tooting Carmen]

I personally would say Columbia is a good candidate.

Would you have said so even before reading my post?

[JosephK]

I suppose that's why Colombia is known as a beacon of civilization and hope.

[Tooting Carmen]

I suppose that's why Colombia is known as a beacon of civilization and hope.

Believe it or not, in some ways it actually has been - before La Violencia broke out in 1948, it was actually regarded as one of Latin America's freest and most stable countries, and even since then it has only had one military regime (1954-57), whereas countries stretching from Guatemala to Argentina had them well into the 1980's. And nor has it had the kind of hyperinflation and economic mismanagement that other countries in the region have had either.

[Longbowman]

Trobriand Islanders are super chill.

Srs: dumb question, can't be answered.

[Tooting Carmen]

Trobriand Islanders are super chill.

Srs: dumb question, can't be answered.

Well we do know it is certainly not Israel - at least not since Golda Meir was PM, at any rate.

[JosephK]

One man's progress is another man's degradation, I suppose...

[Black Panther]

Talking about Latin America in this sense, one has to take into account the racial demographics of those countries. When you mention "Colombians" have been the most progressive people in History, you are talking from a White Colombian's perspective since they have always dominated Colombian politics and economy. When it comes Latin American countries, the non-Whites have always been the more socially progressive people and Whites have been more regressive. This is why I think it is hard to judge which Latin American has been the most progressive throughout History, because most people base their comparisons on the actions of Latin American elites, who are, almost as a rule, not representative of the majority population. I personally don't like using extremely multiracial societies as examples in this type of Historical analysis.

[Tooting Carmen]

Talking about Latin America in this sense, one has to take into account the racial demographics of those countries. When you mention "Colombians" have been the most progressive people in History, you are talking from a White Colombian's perspective since they have always dominated Colombian politics and economy. When it comes Latin American countries, the non-Whites have always been the more socially progressive people and Whites have been more regressive. This is why I think it is hard to judge which Latin American has been the most progressive throughout History, because most people base their comparisons on the actions of Latin American elites, who are, almost as a rule, not representative of the majority population. I personally don't like using extremely multiracial societies as examples in this type of Historical analysis.

I understand what you mean. However, (1) the whiteness of the Colombian elite is and always has been rather overrated anyway and (2) the point is that, since the abolition of slavery, Colombia has not had the codified legal discrimination against Blacks that other countries have had. (This is not to suggest whatsoever that there wasn't or still isn't societal discrimination, but that's another matter).