Apr 1, 2020
When tracing your ancestry, it’s important to know your history – especially, the untold parts. From 1514 to 1866, the Transatlantic slave trade forced 10-12 million Africans across the middle passage and into bondage, trapped in strange lands. That’s more than 36,000 documented voyages. And in that trade, nearly 400,000 Africans were brought to the United States.
But what about the tens of millions of people who were not in the U.S.? What of their history? Their legacies? Even their influence on Black Americans?
Africans were enslaved in many countries outside of the U.S. in North and South America, including modern-day Haiti, Colombia, Brazil, Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico, and more…
On today’s episode of American Origin stories, we will discuss the impact of one country in particular, Haiti – which became the first independent nation run by people of African descent – also known as The Black Republic.
Joining in on the conversation is expert historian, Dr. Brandon Byrd, assistant professor at Vanderbilt University.