Africans and Early Slavery
In 1719, two ships arrived in New Orleans, the Duc du Maine and the Aurore, carrying the first African slaves to Louisiana. From 1718 to 1750, thousands of Africans were transported to Louisiana from the Senegambian coast, the west African region of the interior of modern Benin, and from the coast of modern Angola. According to French shipping records, approximately 2000 individuals originated from the upper West African slave ports from Saint-Louis, Senegal to Cap Appolonia (present-day Ébrié Lagoon, Côte d'Ivoire) several hundred kilometers to the south, a further 2000 were exported from the port of Whydah (modern Ouidah, Benin) and roughly 300 departed from Cabinda. It has been argued, though it is by no means universally accepted, that due to historical and administrative ties between France and Senegal, "Two-thirds of the slaves brought to Louisiana by the French slave trade came from Senegambia." This region between the Senegal and Gambia rivers had peoples who were closely related through history: three of the principal languages, Sereer, Wolof and Pulaar were related, and Malinke, spoken by the Mande people to the east, was "mutually intelligible" with them. This concentration of peoples from one region of Africa strongly shaped Louisiana Creole culture.
The geographic and perhaps linguistic similarities of many African captives, can be easily exaggerated and did not necessarily imply a common heritage in Louisiana. Religion was one significant difference among many of the Africans who were sold to the Americas from Senegal. The creation of a common culture as some have argued, is an assertion still debated by historians. It is historically difficult to determine the religious beliefs of slaves, but it is likely that some, if not many, slaves from Senegal were Muslims. Many were certainly captives taken in the religious wars that engulfed the region from Futa Djallon to Futa Toro and Futa Bundu (modern Upper Niger River) in the early 18th century. Indeed, the inland territories of the African continent from which slaves were captured, were enormous. Contemporary and modern observers may have attributed more similarities to slaves taken from among these areas than enslaved Africans recognized among themselves at the time of transportation and sale in Louisiana.
Read more about this topic: History Of Louisiana
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