The Louisiana Slave Database is a great
source of information for those looking for clues into the African
origins of their enslaved ancestors. I found some success to finding
one of my ancestors in the database and DNA testing revealed that he
was possibly of Yoruba ancestry.
In studying the population dynamics of
the enslaved population, it is apparent that the origin of one's
ancestors were affected the fertility rates of certain ethnic groups,
the proportion of ethnic groups and the preferences slave owners had
for certain ethnic groups, and the sex ratio of enslaved Africans.
According to Hall (1992), during the
Spanish period of Louisiana's history (1762-1800), 2/3 of the slaves
that arrived in Louisiana came from the Senegambia region (especially
in the 18th century) which included the ancient kingdoms
of Ghana, Mali and Songhai where Pulaar, Wolof and Malinke were the
most common languages. From the period (1762-1800), the majority of
adults were born in Africa although after 1743, most African slaves
were re-exported from Caribbean islands such as St. Dominigue,
Martinigue, Jamaica and Cuba.
Africans from the Bight of Benin were a
significant population during the Spanish and Early American periods
in the St. John The Baptist, Pointe Coupee and St. Charles parishes.
The Dahomeans also known as the Fon and Aja brought to America were
nearly half female and these women had the highest fertility rates
among the enslaved African population are credited by Hall (2003) as
introducing a matriarchal form of voodoo.(Kein, 2000)
Members of the Bambara ethnic group
made up a significant portion of the enslaved population. These men
and women spoke the Mende language and originated from the Niger bend
but were sold into slavery and sent down the Gambia and Senegal
Rivers for transport across the Atlantic Ocean. They were casualties
of war between Bambara Kingdoms, and most were men. These men were
extremely defiant and often conspired with neighboring Native
American tribes to conspiracy against Europeans.
Bight of Benin
Africans (i.e. Yoruba, Fon, Arada, Aja, and Mina) were popular in
parishes along the lower Mississpi Valley. Ethnic groups like Igbo
and Ibibio were present in lower numbers. All slaves from the West
and Central Africa region were listed as “Congo” despite their
actual ethnic origin and were generally found in New Orleans and St.
Charles Parish in 1803 and beyond.
It
is also interesting to note that Africans of the same ethnicity were
usually in close proximity to each other on the estates of their
“masters”.
Fertility Rates
Hall (1992) and Bond (2005) point out
some very interesting facts regarding fertility rates and sources of
origin of African slaves. Bambara men and Ibo/Wolof/Canga women were
the most fertile. African creole children more than likely had a
mother who was Igbo, Wolof or Fon and a father who was Bambara or
Mina during the Spanish Period. Their high fertility may have been
due to the fact they were close to the Atlantic when they were
enslaved and were in better physical condition than other ethnic
groups who taken from the African interior. For example, while Congo
slaves were brought to Louisiana in a substantial number, but they
had low fertility rates.
According to Kein (2000), Creole slaves
(slaves of different African ethnic groups) had at least one African
parent as well as African grandparents and great-grand parents.
Because of fertility rates among the Bambara, the oldest African
grandfathers were more than likely Bambara and the
grandmothers were more likely to be Wolof. Because Creole
children were often separated from their mothers during slavery and
had no knowledge of their biological fathers, many African men
adopted children on the estates or plantations.
References
Bond, B. G. (2005). French colonial Louisiana and the Atlantic
world. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
Hall, G. M. (1992). Africans in colonial Louisiana the development of Afro-Creole culture in the eighteenth century. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
Kein, S. (2000). Creole the history and legacy of Louisiana's free people of color. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
