Where, when and how African culture became a part of the culture of the Americas

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...