David: History

Pre-20th-Century History

When the Spanish first visited Chiriquí province in the early 15th century, they were astonished by what they found. Instead of discovering one or two main population groups, they encountered many tribes living in relative isolation. Often separated by only a few kilometers, each group maintained a distinct language, culture and religion. Of course, this didn't stop Spanish missionaries from doing what they did best, namely converting to Christianity everyone they laid eyes on.

In the early 17th century, Spanish missionaries led by Padre Cristóbal Cacho Santillana rounded up 626 natives from across the region. Hoping that their work would be easier if they could identify similarities in the languages, the missionaries started to record a vocabulary of the most common words. Although he was successful in identifying six distinct languages, measles brought by the colonists swept through the towns and killed half the study population. The survivors, having had enough of the Spanish, took to the hills. Unfortunately, their fate was already sealed - of the Cotho, Borisque, Dorasque, Utelae, Bugabae, Zune, Dolega, Zariba, Dure and others, only the Ngöbe-Buglé survived. Today, the Ngöbe-Buglé are the most populous of Panama's seven indigenous groups, though their numbers are but a tiny fraction of what they once were.

During the 17th century and into the 18th century, Chiriquí province was the subject of pirate attacks. In 1680, English buccaneer Richard Sawkins was fatally wounded while trying to lead an assault against Remedios. Even the Miskito tribes from the north behaved like pirates after invading the region in 1732, and plundering and burning the city of David.

Modern History

In the 19th century, another sort of foreigner moved in, namely farmers from North America and Europe who viewed the climate and slopes of the Chiriquí highlands as ideal for coffee, timber and other crops. Their descendants worked in the fields throughout the 20th century and continue to do so today.

Recent History

The wave of immigration hasn't yet subsided - recent arrivals are mainly foreign retirees and real-estate speculators, which has led many Chiricanos to question who actually owns the land they love so much.

As Panama's largest indigenous population, the Ngöbe-Buglé number close to 200,000, and retain their own comarca , or autonomous region, which is largely confined to the Chiriquí highlands. They implement their own system of governance and economy while still maintaining their language, representation in the Panamanian legislature and full voting rights.

Due to their significant population and their control of large tracts of undeveloped land, the Ngöbe-Buglé have been more successful than other groups in resisting the drive to modernize. Still, they are struggling to maintain their cultural identity, especially as foreign pressures continue to descend on the comarca .

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