The African Migration and the Origins of an Afro-American Society and Culture

The link between Africa and the Caribbean drew upon 3 ___(?) cultural resources: Europe, Africa, and Natives. We are warned against trying to make linear connections to similar traits in West Africa, but are urged to inspect the conidtions in which Africans found themselves in. The Caribbean was a place where many came in search of dreams, but in order to survive, cultural borrowings ocurred on many levels. Slaves were imported at varying rates and lengua francas had to be created, thus, although things were re-structured (constructed)  in the Caribbean, it was as slaves in slavery and not as free peoples in their homelands (10). Many societies in the Caribbean were “exploitation societies” (14-15) which often stated what slaves could do, but not what they ought to do (ibid). Links to Africa remain apparent due to Africans being the majority on many islands.

From: Crahan, Margaret E. and Franklin W. Knight. “The African Migration and the Origins of an Afro-American Society and Cutlure” In 1979. Africa and the Caribbean: The Legacies of a Link, edited by M.E. Crahan and F.W. Knight. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.

~ by Chano Santamaria on February 13, 2008.