Map - Mahates

Mahates is a river town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia. The town of Mahates was founded on April 17, 1533 by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Heredia.

The municipality of Mahates also covers the village of Palenque de San Basilio, inhabited mainly by Afro-Colombians which are direct descendants of African slaves brought by the Spanish during the Colonization of the Americas and have preserved their ancestral traditions. In 2005 the Palenque de San Basilio village was proclaimed Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The town of Mahates was founded in 1533 by Pedro de Heredia after founding Cartagena de Indias. In 1538 was given in encomienda to his son, Antonio de Heredia who transfer the property to Luis Pelo de Águila who finally erected the parish. Due to its rapid increase on population Mahates quickly became a village and political chiefdom of the municipality and First Instance Court until the end of the 19th century.

In 1650 the Canal del Dique was built and Mahates became an obliged pass for commercial routes passing by the area. Through the history of Colombia Mahates has been a division, named as Partition, Cantón, Province, District of Province and Municipality.

In 1860 two-thirds of the village of Mahates were destroyed by a fire when Mahates was part of the Sovereign State of Bolívar, Granadine Confederation and capital of the Province of Mahates, which also included today's municipalities of Calamar and Arjona, then districts.

In 1865 the Province of Mahates is demoted to a lower territorial category, also losing territory. With the construction of the railway between Cartagena de Indias and Calamar in 1894 the transportation of commercial goods over the canal lost importance and Mahates became less strategically important. Later, with the construction of the highway set to pass through the town of Mahates is then deviated 10 km away from the town.