Lyra Miranda Morrison
10/20/14
One of the central questions for historians is the degree to which African culture became a part
of the culture of the Americas. Describe where, when and how African culture became a part of the
culture of the Americas.
The United States is often referred to as a melting pot, a nation of immigrants who
all contribute aspects of their native cultures to create a larger American culture. And
not just the United States, but the Americas as a whole consist largely of a blend of
cultures beginning with the "discovery" of the "New World" several centuries ago. Many
historians often inquire about the degree to which African culture became a part of the
larger, European dominated culture of the Americas, as well as when, where and how this
happened.
The simple answer is that the contributions of African culture were formative to
the development of the culture of the Americas, as Africans were in contact with
Europeans from the very beginning of the European settlement of the Americas. Many
came over as slaves, as there was much manual labour required to transform the Americas
into the societies envisioned by European settlers. But many also came from Africa as
explorers, working alongside Europeans to raze the land and cultures of native peoples
and lay the groundwork for Western civilization, as well as the Western system of
chattel slavery, specifically of people of African descent, which would soon begin to
develop.
However, before the culture of the Americas could absorb elements of African
culture, a universal African culture first had to be established. Even to this day, Africa is
not infrequently thought of more as a single entity than the continent of diverse
individual nations and cultures that it is and was. The initial conception of an...