# Conclusion  
Every one of the different migrations of African and Afrodescendent populations that came to Costa Rica specifically, and to Central America generally, produced distinct symbolic codes at the cultural, social and political level. These codes were a product of their particular past, the areas the migrants settled and the moment in history. These migrants' identities, built around their diverse social roles, explain the different paths taken by each generation and how this influenced a plural and diverse national identity.  
During the colonial period, Afrodescendants in Central America acquired Spanish culture and in time blended with other groups, thus giving birth to a mestizo culture. By the end of the eighteenth century, people with African ancestry could be found throughout every level of society, from a friar in an indigenous doctrina (parish) to elementary school teachers. The word Don, which legally could only be used by Spaniards, was used in practice by blacks and Afro-mestizos in important positions. Exemplifying the malleability of ethnoracial census categorizations, Afrodescendants situated in a position of economic  
or political power were no longer referred to as blacks but as pardos, mulatos or mestizos. At the same time, other Afrodescendants remained enslaved, were treated violently in their everyday life, and continued to be separated from their families. As time passed, they were culturally assimilated into the dominant Spanish culture, becoming Spanish-speaking Catholics. Familiarity with the larger culture gave them the ability to fight in courts of law for better living conditions and for their liberty. They especially struggled to legalize the abolition of slavery, a law that many did not wish to respect.