Ethnicity in the Diaspora: The Slave-Trade and the Creation of African 'Nations' in the Americas

Most Africans in the Americas identified with a limited set of diasporic ethnonyms, in such a way as to suggest they were ethnic groups. These are increasingly seen as historical African or neo-African realities. It is argued here that named groups should be regarded as artefacts of the transatlanti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSlavery & abolition Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 25 - 39
Main Author Chambers, D.B.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 01.12.2001
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Summary:Most Africans in the Americas identified with a limited set of diasporic ethnonyms, in such a way as to suggest they were ethnic groups. These are increasingly seen as historical African or neo-African realities. It is argued here that named groups should be regarded as artefacts of the transatlantic slave trade: a diasporic ethnogenesis resulting from shared aspects of culture, myths of common ancestry, links with a homeland and a sense of solidarity. African named groups were 'invented traditions' but were not random, ad hoc experiments of cultural strangers. The article focuses mainly on the West Indies/Caribbean basin. (Quotes from original text)
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
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content type line 23
ISSN:0144-039X
1743-9523
DOI:10.1080/714005214