In the first decades of the importation of slaves, during which the Company of the Indies had a monopoly over the trade, a majority of enslaved Africans came from Senegambia, a region lying between the Senegal and Gambia rivers of West Africa.7 During the second half of the eighteenth century, the origins of enslaved Africans in Louisiana increased greatly. Baptismal records of 1801-1802 from St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans include Sierra Leone, the Windward Coast, Gold Coast, Bight of Benin, Bight of Biafra, and Central Africa as well as Senegambia and the Americas as places of origins for enslaved persons.8 Colonial records indicate the African nation and African culture groups irregularly with varying terms and accuracy, but do present enough information to be sure that the enslaved population of Louisiana by the end of the eighteenth century was comprised of Mandinkas, Fon, Bambara, Fanti, Gambians, Senegalese, Guineans, Yorubas, Igbo, and Angolans among others.
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 05:56:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015