ABSTRACT
Juan Latino wrote mainly panegyric poetry, for example Eprigrammatum Liber ( 1 573) , an ode to celebrate the birth of Philip II of Spain's son. His penchant for panegyric poetry is believed to have been inspired by his African origin and he is thought to have merely 'translated' or 'transferred' the model of Afri can praise poems to a European setting. The death of Latino in 1594 marked the end of a tradition of African writing in Latin. By the end of the sixteenth century, the system of slavery had become even more ruthless and had completely ruled out any opportunities of a Latin education for Negro slaves.
