An introduction:
The
African Presence in the Americas
Before Columbus, before the "Americas," indigenous peoples organized in communities, nations and empires had resided in this hemisphere for over 40,000 years. According to recent scholarship, visitors from Africa, Asia and Europe arrived on these shores long before 1492. It was the Columbus voyage of 1492, however, that ushered in the era of European conquest, colonization and settlement in this hemisphere which led to the formation of the 49 nations that comprise North, South and Central America and the Caribbean.
The African presence in the Americas is a direct consequences of the European - Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, French and English - colonization of the "New World." Over the first 350 years of European occupation, more than 10 million Africans of many different ethnic groups were sold into slavery and distributed throughout the Americas. Today, modest estimates place their descendants at over 200 million. Over the past 500 years, Africans and their descendants have been involved at one level or another in virtually every aspect of the development of this hemisphere, providing the foundation on which today's Americas were built.
The African Presence in the Americas is designed to introduce you to the dynamics and dimensions of the 500 year history of African people in the Americas. Four broad themes have been selected for exploration: Migration, Work, Culture, and Resistance. These themes cut across time and geography, illuminating the commonalties and differences in background, culture, color, gender and social status of these African Americans.