Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP)
Remembering Ancestors
In Honduras mining was the most important industry, occurring originally near the Guatemalan border and in the interior. However by the 1540s, mining had shifted eastward toward the Rio Guayape Valley. Between 1540 and 1640 there were more Africans than Europeans, and in 1545 alone there were 2,000 Africans working the gold and silver mines. With continual slave rebellions from 1548 to the 1570s and near depletion of known sources Read More
The nations comprising Central America are Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Until the 1650s Africans comprised a larger portion of the population than European and mestizo combined in Santiago de Guatemala (Guatemala) which was the Spanish Empire’s capital for all of Central America. Although Africans and their descendants have lived throughout this region for more than five hundred years only Nicaraguans easily acknowledge their Black Read More
According to the 2006 Canadian Census, 2.5 percent of its citizens are of African descent. Many surmise that this represents people entirely emigrating from the US on the Underground Railroad, from the West Indies and Africa during the 19th Century to the present. Yet contrary to this popular perception, Canada’s history with Africans and their enslavement is a long one. As in every nation in the Americas, there was an Read More
Have you ever asked people how they were, and the response was “blessed,” and then wondered if this is a statement of faith, a celebration of life, or a comparison to all those who are worse off. Sometimes it seems like a litmus test for inclusion. “I’m blessed; are you?” This post is prompted by two recent occurrences. One took place in an African American history class when a student Read More
A great number of the posts for this blog have referred to the history of the U.S. mainland. The African Diaspora includes, obviously, other regions of the Western Hemisphere as well. Mexico is such an example, and as a neighbor of the United States has shared culture, history and even land. Both countries practiced slavery, first of the indigenous people and later Africans and Asians. Both countries are ambivalent in Read More
Over centuries, increasing sensitivity to the history of all peoples has been developing. A major example of this is that humanitarians now urge implicit respect for different cultures and beliefs. None of these efforts is more important than protecting and preserving sacred ancestral burial sites and the remains they contain. Recently, the discovery of an African burial ground in Lower Manhattan was a particularly important cultural event. The burial ground Read More
Visiting Williamsburg, VA during October to foster an academic affiliation, members of the project’s board continuously confronted contradictions that people faced, ignored and rationalized historically to create the United States of America and the New World. Presently several candidates priming to run for the presidential office have continued in that tradition, proudly proclaiming that the United States of America is a country based on Christian ideals blessed by God. In fact, Read More
Several historians and researchers who specialize in the Middle Passage and the Atlantic slave trade have described the slave ships as floating prisons. The previous blogs have described who the captive Africans were by possible ethnic group, region, age, gender, health and skill level. The impact of their removal upon the community was addressed in a limited manner. Conditions and treatment on the ship has not been adequately or fully Read More
Occasionally this blog will provide books, materials and films related to the Middle Passage or the transatlantic slave trade which we have found useful in researching. Books and Texts: A Mercy by Toni Morrison (2008) This tale challenges the notion of any possibility for humanity, freedom and justice to exist when exercised within a system of enslavement. Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by David Eltis and David Richardson (2010) Many years in production, Read More
Frequently we are encouraged to focus on one thing or the other. In terms of action or response we often are advised to keep it simple but that is not always appropriate. Because the abolitionist movement, particularly in the early 19th century, effectively concentrated on the Middle Passage as a means to graphically dramatize the terrors of the transatlantic slave trade some historians are now dismissive. They contend that the Middle Read More