Ethnic group
Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Africans (primarily from West and Central Africa) taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the trans-Atlantic slave trade between the 15th and 19th centuries to work primarily on various sugar plantations and in domestic households. Other names for the ethnic group include Black Caribbean, Afro- or Black West Indian, or Afro- or Black Antillean. The term West Indian Creole has also been used to refer to Afro-Caribbean people, as well as other ethnic and racial groups in the region, though there remains debate about its use to refer to Afro-Caribbean people specifically. The term Afro-Caribbean was not coined by Caribbean people themselves but was first used by European Americans in the late 1960s.
People of Afro-Caribbean descent today are largely of West African and Central African ancestry, and may additionally be of other origins, including European, Chinese, South Asian and Amerindian descent, as there has been extensive intermarriage and unions among the peoples of the Caribbean over the centuries.
Although most Afro-Caribbean people today continue to reside in English, French and Spanish-speaking Caribbean nations and territories, there are also significant diaspora populations throughout the Western world, especially in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands. Caribbean peoples are predominantly of Christian faith, though some practice African-derived or syncretic religions, such as Santeria, Vodou and Winti. Many speak creole languages, such as Haitian Creole, Jamaican Patois, Sranantongo, Saint Lucian Creole, Martinican Creole or Papiamento.
Both the home and diaspora populations have produced a number of individuals who have had a notable influence on modern African, Caribbean and Western societies; they include political activists such as Marcus Garvey and C. L. R. James; writers and theorists such as Aimé Césaire and Frantz Fanon; US military leader and statesman Colin Powell; athletes such as Usain Bolt, Tim Duncan and David Ortiz; and musicians Bob Marley, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna.
History
Main article: Afro-Caribbean history16th–18th centuries
During the post-Columbian era, the archipelagos and islands of the Caribbean were the first sites of African diaspora dispersal in the western Atlantic. In 1492, Pedro Alonso Niño, an African-Spanish seafarer, was recorded as piloting one of Columbus' ships. He returned in 1499, but did not settle.
In the early 16th century, more Africans began to enter the population of the Spanish Caribbean colonies, sometimes arriving as free men of mixed ancestry or as indentured servants, but increasingly as enslaved workers and servants. This increasing demand for African labour in the Caribbean was in part the result of massive depopulation of the native Taíno and other Indigenous peoples caused by the new infectious diseases, harsh conditions, and warfare brought by European colonists. By the mid-16th century, the slave trade from West Africa to the Caribbean was so profitable that Francis Drake and John Hawkins were prepared to engage in piracy as well as break Spanish colonial laws, in order to forcibly transport approximately 1500 enslaved people from Sierra Leone to Hispaniola (modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
During the 17th and 18th centuries, European colonial development in the Caribbean became increasingly reliant on plantation slavery to cultivate and process the lucrative commodity crop of sugarcane. On many islands shortly before the end of the 18th century, the enslaved Afro-Caribbean people greatly outnumbered their European masters. In addition, there developed a class of free people of color, especially in the French islands, where certain individuals of mixed race were given rights. On Saint-Domingue, free people of color and slaves rebelled against harsh conditions, and constant inter-imperial warfare. Inspired by French revolutionary sentiments which pronounced all men free and equal, Toussaint L'Ouverture and Jean Jacques Dessalines led the Haitian Revolution. When it became independent in 1804, Haiti became the first Afro-Caribbean republic in the Western Hemisphere and the first state which was both free from slavery (though not from forced labour) and ruled by non-whites and former captives.
19th–20th centuries
In 1804, Haiti, with its overwhelmingly African population and leadership, became the second nation in the Americas to win independence from a European state. During the 19th century, continuous waves of rebellion, such as the Baptist War, led by Sam Sharpe in Jamaica, created the conditions for the incremental abolition of slavery in the region by various colonial powers. Great Britain abolished slavery in its holdings in 1834. Cuba was the last island to be emancipated, when Spain abolished slavery in its colonies.
During the 20th century, Afro-Caribbean people, who were a majority in many Caribbean societies, began to assert their cultural, economic, and political rights with more vigor on the world stage. Marcus Garvey was among many influential immigrants to the United States from Jamaica, expanding his UNIA movement in New York City and the U.S. Afro-Caribbean people, such as Claude McKay and Eric D. Walrond, were influential in the Harlem Renaissance as artists and writers. Aimé Césaire developed a négritude movement.
In the 1960s, the West Indian territories were given their political independence from British colonial rule. They were pre-eminent in creating new cultural forms such as reggae music, calypso and Rastafari within the Caribbean. Beyond the region, a developing Afro-Caribbean diaspora in the United States, including such figures as Stokely Carmichael and DJ Kool Herc, was influential in the development of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and the hip-hop movement of the 1980s. African-Caribbean individuals also contributed to cultural developments in Europe, as evidenced by influential theorists such as Frantz Fanon and Stuart Hall.
Notable people
Politics
- Sir Grantley Adams – Barbados, politician and lawyer; the first and only Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation (1958–1962)
- Jean-Bertrand Aristide – politician, priest and head of state, Haiti
- Dean Barrow – head of government, Belize
- Maurice Bishop – Grenada, revolutionary leader
- Paul Bogle – Jamaica, political activist
- Ertha Pascal Trouillot – Haiti, first Black female president in the world, lawyer
- Juan Almeida Bosque – Cuban revolutionary and politician
- Dutty Boukman – Haitian freedom fighter
- Forbes Burnham – Guyana, head of government
- Bussa – Barbados, freedom fighter
- Stokely Carmichael – Trinidad-born, civil rights activist and leader in the US
- Mary Eugenia Charles – Dominican head of government
- Perry Christie – Bahamian, politician and lawyer
- Henri Christophe – Haiti, revolutionary, general and head of state
- David Clarke(sheriff) – Barbudan, former Sheriff of Milwaukee
- John Compton – Saint Lucia, politician and lawyer
- Francisco del Rosario Sánchez – Dominican Republic founding father, revolutionary, and president
- Paris Dennard – Grenada, former CNN political commentator
- Jean-Jacques Dessalines – Haiti (est. 1804), revolutionary, general and first head of state of independent Haiti
- Papa Doc Duvalier – dictator of Haiti, 20th century
- Marcus Garvey – Jamaica, politician and writer, founder of UNIA and active in US politics from 1916 to 1927
- Philip Goldson – Belize, politician
- Kamala Devi Harris – Jamaican descent, first African American, first Asian American, and first female Vice President of the United States
- Louis Farrakhan – Jamaican and St. Kitts ancestry. Religious leader, Head of Nation of Islam, USA
- Ulises Heureaux – Dominican Republic president and military leader
- Sam Hinds – Guyana, head of government
- Hubert Ingraham – Bahamian, politician and lawyer
- Toussaint L'Ouverture – Saint-Domingue, revolutionary, general and governor
- Joseph Robert Love – Bahamian-born, medical doctor; Jamaican politician and political activist who influenced Marcus Garvey
- Gregorio Luperón – Dominican Republic revolutionary, general and president
- Antonio Maceo Grajales – Cuban revolutionary and general
- Michael Manley – Jamaica, politician
- Jon Miller – Montserrat, Conservative Review, BlazeTV Host
- Nanny of the Maroons – Jamaica, freedom fighter
- Jeanne Odo – Haiti, abolitionist
- Candace Owens – British Virgin Islander, PragerU Radio and Founder of Blexit
- Wendy Phipps (born 1967) is a Kittitian politician and businesswoman.
- Lynden Pindling – Bahamian politician, and first Prime minister of the Bahamas
- Samuel Jackman Prescod – Barbados, first elected Afro-Caribbean politician in the House of Assembly
- Sam Sharpe – Jamaica, freedom fighter
- Solitude – Guadeloupe, freedom fighter
- Eric Eustace Williams – Trinidad and Tobago politician, writer and head of government
- Shirley Chisholm – Guyanese and Bajan descent, first black woman elected to the US Congress, first black major-party US presidential candidate
- Colin Powell – Jamaican descent, US Army General, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
Science and philosophy
- Alfredo Bowman (Dr. Sebi) – International herbalist healer from Honduras.
- Frantz Fanon – Martinique, writer, psychiatrist and freedom fighter
- Hubert Harrison – St. Croix, writer, orator, educator, critic, and race and class conscious political activist based in Harlem, New York
- Stuart Hall – Jamaican philosopher
- C. L. R. James – Trinidad and Tobago, activist and writer
- W. Arthur Lewis – Saint Lucia, economist and Nobel Prize recipient
- Pedro Alonso Niño – Afro-Spanish explorer
- Arlie Petters – Belizean mathematician
- Walter Rodney – Guyanese activist and writer
- Mary Seacole – Jamaican nurse and hospital director
Arts and culture
- Carlos Acosta – Cuba, ballet dancer
- Beenie Man – Jamaica, artist and musician
- Frank Bowling – Guyana, painter
- Esther Rolle – Actress of Bahamian descent
- Aimé Césaire – Martinique, fiction writer
- Celia Cruz – Cuba, singer
- Stacey Dash – Barbadian descent, actress
- Bert Williams – Bahamian entertainer, and probably the first successful Afro-Caribbean entertainer in America
- AngelaMaria Davila – Puerto Rican poet
- Eddy Grant – Guyana, singer and musician
- Edward W. Hardy – Puerto Rican, composer and musician
- C. L. R. James – Trinidad, historian, essayist and journalist
- Wyclef Jean – Haitian singer, composer and activist
- Earl Lovelace – Trinidad, novelist and writer
- Luis Palés Matos – Puerto Rican poet
- Bob Marley – Jamaica, singer and musician
- Ziggy Marley (Bob Marley's son) – Jamaica, singer and musician
- Myke Towers – Puerto Rican, rapper
- The Mighty Sparrow – Grenadian/Trinidadian singer and composer
- Trinidad James – Trinidad, rapper
- Zoe Saldana – American actress of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent
- Nicki Minaj – Trinidad, rapper and singer
- Sean Paul – Jamaica, dancehall artist
- Shyne – Belize rapper
- Sidney Poitier – Bahamas, first actor of African American or Afro-Caribbean descent to win an Academy Award in the US
- Rihanna – Barbados, singer
- Chevalier de Saint-Georges – Guadeloupe, composer
- Cardi B - Dominican Republic, rapper
- Naomi Campbell - Jamaican-English supermodel.
- Lewis Hamilton - Grenadian, Formula 1 driver.
- FKA Twigs - Jamaican, alternative singer.
- Antony Santos – Dominican Republic, bachata singer
- Peter Tosh – Jamaica, singer and musician
- Bebo Valdés – Cuban musician
- Johnny Ventura – Dominican Republic salsa and merengue singer
- Corinne Bailey Rae – singer of Kittian descent
- Derek Walcott – Saint Lucia, poet, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature
- Pop Smoke – American rapper of Jamaican and Panamanian descent
Sports
- Cole Palmer – English footballer, Chelsea player
- Kirani James – Grenada, Grenada's first Olympic Gold Medalist and World's fastest 400m runner from 2012 to 2016
- Omar Amir-Bahamas – professional wrestler in the Ohio Valley Wrestling Arena
- Deandre Ayton – Bahamas, #1 Overall Pick of the 2018 NBA Draft and player for the Phoenix Suns
- Ozzie Albies – Curaçao, MLB player for the Atlanta Braves
- John Barnes – Jamaican-born English footballer
- Usain Bolt – Jamaica, Olympics gold medalist and the fastest man in history
- Robinson Canó – Dominican Republic MLB player
- Kingsley Coman – Guadeloupe, football player
- Carmelo Anthony – Puerto Rican-American, basketball player
- Tonique Williams-Darling – Bahamas, 400m runner and Olympic gold medalist
- Tim Duncan – St. Croix (Anguilla parentage), basketball player
- Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce – Jamaica, athlete
- Thierry Henry – Guadeloupe, football player, best French scorer
- Buddy Hield – Bahamas, NBA player for the Sacramento Kings
- Kenley Jansen – Curaçao, MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Brian Lara – Trinidad, cricketer
- Anthony Martial – Guadeloupe, French football player
- Shaunae Miller – Bahamian, 400m and 200m runner and Olympic gold medalist
- Anthony Nesty – Surinamese, swimmer and Olympic gold medalist
- David Ortiz – Dominican Republic MLB player
- Burgess Owens – Barbadian-born, former American football player
- Sir Vivian Richards – Antigua, cricketer
- Teddy Riner – Guadeloupe, Judoka
- Errol Spence Jr. – Jamaican American, boxer, current Unified Welterweight Champion
- Mike McCallum – Jamaica, Boxer, World Champion in 3 different weight classes
- Julian Jackson (boxer) – Saint Thomas, boxer, 3-time world champion in 2 weight classes
- Darren Sammy – Saint Lucia, cricketer
- Kimbo Slice – Bahamian boxer and MMA fighter
- Sir Garfield Sobers – Barbados, cricketer
- Sammy Sosa – Dominican Republic MLB player
- Karl-Anthony Towns – Dominican Republic-descended NBA player, #1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, NBA player for the Minnesota Timberwolves
- Marcellus Wiley – Martinican American, former American football player and FOX Sports commentator/host
- Adam Sanford – Dominican cricketer
- Jayde Riviere – Dominican football Player
- Jay Emmanuel-Thomas – Dominican football player
- Konrad de la Fuente – Dominican-American football player
- Vurnon Anita – Curaçao football player
- Joe Willock – Jamaican football player
- Fabrice Noel – Haitian footballer
- Jaron Vicario – Curaçaoan football player
- Sanchez Watt – Jamaican football player
Main groups
- Afro-Antiguan and Barbudan
- Afro-Bahamian
- Afro-Barbadian
- Afro-Bermudian
- Afro-Curaçaoans
- Afro-Colombians
- Afro-Costa Ricans
- Afro-Cuban
- Afro-Dominican (Dominica)
- Afro-Dominican (Dominican Republic)
- Afro-Grenadian
- Afro-Guatemalan
- Afro-Guyanese
- Afro-Haitians
- Afro-Hondurans
- Afro-Jamaican
- Afro-Kittian and Nevisian
- Afro-Martinicans
- Afro-Mexicans
- Afro-Nicaraguan
- Afro-Panamanian
- Afro-Puerto Ricans
- Afro-Saint Lucian
- Afro-Salvadoran
- Afro-Surinamese
- Afro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians
- Afro-Venezuelan
- Afro-Vincentian
- Belizean Creole people
- Samaná Americans
- Other members of the African diaspora in or from the Caribbean
Culture
Main page: Category:Afro-Caribbean cultureSee also
References
- Results Archived 12 February 2020 at archive.today American Fact Finder (US Census Bureau)
- INSEE. "Populations légales 2017 des départements et collectivités d'outre-mer" (in French). Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- "Archived copy". www.miamiherald.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - 2011 Census UK Government Web Archive
- "Trinidad and Tobago 2011 population and housing census demographic report" (PDF). Central Statistical Office. 30 November 2012. p. 94. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- "Martinique Population 2024 (Live)". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- "Archived copy". www.stats.gov.vc. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - Cassidy, Frederic Gomes, ed. (2009). Dictionary of Jamaican English (2. ed., digitally printed version ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-521-11840-8.
- "Creole | History, Culture & Language | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- "Definition of CREOLE". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- Cohen, Robin (30 September 2007). "Creolization and Cultural Globalization: The Soft Sounds of Fugitive Power". Globalizations. 4 (3): 369–384. doi:10.1080/14747730701532492. ISSN 1474-7731.
- Allen, C., 1998. "Creole then and now: the problem of definition". Caribbean Quarterly, 44(1-2), pp.36–7.
- Committee on Foreign Affairs, United States Congress House (1970). "Hearings". pp. 64–69.
- Some Historical Account of Guinea: With an Inquiry into the Rise and Progress of the Slave Trade, p. 48, at Google Books
- Stephen D. Behrendt, David Richardson, and David Eltis, W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research, Harvard University. Based on "records for 27,233 voyages that set out to obtain slaves for the Americas". Stephen Behrendt (1999). "Transatlantic Slave Trade". Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. New York: Basic Civitas Books. ISBN 978-0-465-00071-5.
- "Other Revolution". www.brown.edu. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
- Knight, Franklin W. (2000). "The Haitian Revolution". The American Historical Review. 105 (1): 103–115. doi:10.2307/2652438. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 2652438.
- Martin, Tony. Race First: The Ideological and Organizational Struggle of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1976.
- Tillery (1992). Claude McKay: A Black Poet's Struggle for Identity. p. 42.
- Villalon, Oscar (16 January 2013). "'Tropic Death' Presents Life's Horrors In Beautiful Prose". NPR.org. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- Barceló, Margarita, "Walrond, Eric", in William L. Andrews, Frances Smith Foster & Trudier Harris (eds), Oxford Companion to African American Literature, New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 754.
- Heller, Ben A. (12 February 2004). "Césaire, Aimé". In Balderston, Daniel; Gonzalez, Mike (eds.). Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Latin American and Caribbean Literature, 1900-2003 (0 ed.). Routledge. pp. 128–130. doi:10.4324/9780203316115. ISBN 978-0-203-31611-5.
- Nigel C. Gibson, Fanon: The Postcolonial Imagination (2003: Oxford, Polity Press)
- Chen, Kuan-Hsing. "The Formation of a Diasporic Intellectual: An interview with Stuart Hall," collected in David Morley and Kuan-Hsing Chen (eds), Stuart Hall: Critical Dialogues in Cultural Studies, New York: Routledge, 1996.
- "The Hon. Wendy Phipps". Ministry of Finance . 5 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
External links
The dictionary definition of Afro-Caribbean at Wiktionary
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