Race Intersection, Heritage and Identity in African American History
The African- American Culture which also has its name as the “Black-American Culture” mainly contains the social contribution of the African Americans to the entire culture in America. The different identities and descriptions the African-American gets sourced from the African-American origin and history. The African-American culture is different as well as extremely influential when it comes to the entire American culture. The African-American cultures largely have its source as Western as well as Central Africa. Most of the African-American belong to the group of people known as the Yoruba people in Africa. Understanding the African-American identity as it is in the American culture is only possible through an anthropological approach; however, it is easier since the majority of their activities and cultural behaviors will highly match with those of the west and central Africa.
Despite there being a lot of challenges facing the African-American, they were still able to conserve and practice some of their cultural traditions which they had from their motherland. Some of these practices by the African-American were carried over an extended period until they did blend with the American culture and eventually having recognition. The African-American first identity came to establishment during the era of slavery. At this time, it is when the African-American indicated and displayed its vibrant culture which until today it has caused significant impact not only in the American Culture but also in other areas around the globe. Some of the cultures and believes that the African-American did hold onto were those concerning the ritual practices. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The first group of Africans to arrive in the Western countries reached in the year 1619; the group came as servants but not as slaves. The Dutch did ship in a total of 19 Africans who were sold to the Englishmen in a Place known as Point Comfort currently named Fort Monroe. The act of servant trading gave birth to slave trade which led to the transportation of more than 10 million black African. West Africa was, however, the largest contributor most of the slaves had come from countries such Angola, Senegal and the likes. However, it is so that the majority of the Africans were not traded to America since only around 500,000 of them got in America which was about 5% of the total number of slaves. Most of the slaves, however, found themselves in countries such as Brazil and other western nations. The general conditions which were present in the American colonies were more favorable compared to the rest of the colonies in other countries. Diseases were less occurring; plenty of food was available, easy workload, proper shelter and any other conditions which would support the existence of humanity. It was evident that African slaves in America were also outnumbered by the white servants from Britain who had voluntarily come to work in America. With the significant extensions of productive land but with a limited supply of labor, the landowners turned their servants to slaves who had no freedom of movement and would be provided with only the necessities such as food but not salaries.
However, mistreatment of slaves was not to occur, and they also had their rights, and even a few whites lost their lives after defying these rights. With time the black slaves did socialize with each other and even forming families, developing their religion, and carrying out their customs within their slave quarters. They did carry out all these with minimum interference from their masters who mostly concentrated on the work done. As of 1660’s, the American slave colonies were highly expanding, but they were in low demand for labor due to their small sizes. Such circumstances led the colonists to reduce the number of slaves getting in America. By the year 1700, the American colonies had around 25000 African slaves. Most of the slaves were imported from African countries, while as part of them had been born on the American soil in the colonies. Having been born in America gave these slaves a legal status, despite them being slaves from slave parents; they were to be referred to as American as well. More so, white settlers were interested in more farming which led them to explain larger parts to have enough space which would support large-scale plantations. The expansion and creation of vast farm fields by the whites led to the need for more labor output, to satisfy the same, more African slaves were imported to America which led to the high rising rate of African slaves in the year 1660-1700. More so, the American slave traders were not interested with slaves from other areas but preferred only the Americans due to their low prices, and adaptation to harsh conditions.
The moderation and amendment on the tax regulations as well as the exclusion of the great monopolies made it easier for slave trade to occur. Due to the amendments, it was simpler and possible to import young, healthy, and energetic African slaves at low prices. American slave dealers took advantage of the situation to purchase the African slaves which caused a high increase of blacks in America. At the same time as the importation of slaves took place, more Native Americans continued to be born in the colonies. In the 1700’s, slave importation to America was done directly to satisfy the huge demand for labor which was out of the setting up of large plantations by the whites. However, not all the parts of America indicated a high number of slave importation. The Northern cities were the leading ones, cites such as Boston, New York, as well as Philadelphia had a large number of blacks due to their high rate of slave importation. The Africans in the colonies due to their interactions ended up having their own cultural identity different from that of the Americans. It was evident through their way of carrying out activities during their stay in the colonies. The extreme growth of black population in the territories and a part of it having been born and raised in America gave birth to the African American community and culture. However, due to the slavery, the entire black population would receive similar treatment regardless of whether born in America or imported as a slave. .
References
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Leach, M. M., & Sullivan, A. (n.d.). The Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender on Diagnosis. The Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender in Multicultural Counseling, 353-384. doi:10.4135/9781452231846.n15
Montgomery, E. (2004). Recognizing Value in African American Heritage Objects. The Journal of African American History, 89(2), 177. doi:10.2307/4134099