Santa Catalina is a Caribbean island in the Colombian archipelago of Providencia y San Andrés, which has been at the center of a recent territorial dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua that has made the islands central to the geostrategic agenda of the Colombian state in its attempt to reaffirm political alliances with the United States. Within this context, our investigation explores recent processes of archaeological research, heritagisation and tourism promotion on Santa Catalina Island that triggered a conflict between the local raizal population (Afro-descendant, Caribbean, Puritan and English-speaking) and the State (white, Andean, Catholic and Spanish-speaking) around the meaning of two key sites of memory—Fuerte Libertad (Fort Warwick) and the Cabeza de Morgan (Morgan's Head). Drawing on long-term ethnography, this paper reveals how the neoliberal, multicultural state of Colombia has functioned as an investment facilitator and a key actor in transforming ethnic-racial differences into class inequalities.

This work was supported by Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación: [Grant no: CSO2017-85188-R,HAR2016-76094-C4-1-R,Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad].

Peer reviewed