What were African slaves brought to the Caribbean to farm?
Hundreds of thousands of enslaved men, women and children were brought from Africa to the Caribbean and America so that Europeans could have sugar and rum, the main products of sugar cane. Sugarcane was an unusual crop.
Who were the first slaves in the Caribbean?
Christopher Columbus likely transported the first Africans to the Americas in the late 1490s on his expeditions to the island of Hispaniola, now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Their exact status, whether free or enslaved, remains disputed. But the timeline fits with what we know of the origins of the slave trade.
When were slaves first brought to the Caribbean?
Slave imports to the islands of the Caribbean began in the early 16th century.
How many slaves were brought to the Caribbean?
Some 5 million enslaved Africans were taken to the Caribbean, almost half of whom were brought to the British Caribbean (2.3 million). As planters became more reliant on enslaved workers, the populations of the Caribbean colonies changed, so that people born in Africa, or their descendants, came to form the majority.
How did slavery affect the Caribbean?
The slave trade had long lasting negative effects on the islands of the Caribbean. The native peoples, the Arawaks, were wiped out by European diseases and became replaced with West Africans.
Are Jamaicans originally from Africa?
Jamaicans are the citizens of Jamaica and their descendants in the Jamaican diaspora. The vast majority of Jamaicans are of African descent, with minorities of Europeans, East Indians, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and others of mixed ancestry.
Where did slaves in the Caribbean come from?
In the mid 16th century, enslaved people were trafficked from Africa to the Caribbean by European mercantilists. Originally, white European indentured servants worked alongside enslaved African people in the “New World” (the Americas).
Was there slavery in the Caribbean?
Why were the African slaves brought to the Caribbean?
The spread of sugar ‘plantations’ in the Caribbean created a great need for workers. The planters increasingly turned to buying enslaved men, women and children who were brought from Africa.