In the book The History of Hernando de Soto and Florida by author Barnard Shipp, there is a description of the indigenous inhabitants he encountered in the 1520s. It states that The complexion of these people is black, not much different from that of the Ethiopians. Their hair is black and thick, and not very long…. (If you recall the early history of the United States, Hernando de Soto was one of the first explorers/conquerors to navigate South-eastern United States.) There is even a footnote at the bottom of the page that states, This is the first account of the Indians of this part of the Atlantic coast, and is much the same as that given by later voyagers. These Indians were BLACK!!! Why was/is this fact omitted from history books? Also, the term Ethiopian is not speaking about people from Ethiopia. To quote the infamous Black historian Ivan Van Sertima in his book Early America Revisited, The word Ethiopian as used in this context, does not refer to people from Ethiopia. It springs from aethiops which means burnt skin. People of sun-burnt skin (that is, blacks) were sometimes referred to, at that point in time, in this broad and general way. And the indigenous inhabitants of South-eastern United States have been described in this manner.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 01:42:38 +0000
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