Africans in the Americas like the Arabica Plant Remain “True” After Centuries of Slavery
Unlike other plants with light pollen that require cross-fertilization, the Arabica plant's remarkable diaspora was possible due in part to its botanical self-reliance. Arabica's capability to pollinate itself and avoid mutation made it possible to adapt and grow in the many diverse regions of the world.
Most differences in flavor between arabica beans are caused not so much by differences in the plants themselves but by the subtle variations wrought by soil, moisture, and climate. The plant itself has remained extraordinarily true to itself through five centuries of planting around the world.
The Arabica plant has remained extraordinarily true to itself through five centuries of planting around the world.
The African diaspora in the Americas comprises descendants of native sub-Saharan Africans or people from Sub-Saharan Africa who were enslaved and shipped to the Americas by the Europeans via the Atlantic slave trade with their largest populations in Brazil, the United States, and Haiti.
In the new world, Africans were forced to labor in European-owned mines and plantations from the 16th and 19th centuries. Many died during this passage; however, these Africans adapted to the new world like the Arabica plant.
Africans were forced to labor in European-owned mines and plantations from the 16th and 19th centuries
Many of the descendants from West and Central Africa acquired languages, cultures, customs, religions, and names based on the country that they live in. Nonetheless, their genes remained intact and can still trace their lineage back to Africa.
Over the centuries, Black people have added their original contributions to their respective societies' cultural mix and thus exerted a profound influence on all facets of life in the Americas. A strong African influence saturates music, dance, the arts, literature, speech forms, and religious practices in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Whether as slaves or free blacks, Africans brought various African cultural influences to the New World.
They came from many places in Africa and were too scattered and oppressed throughout the Americas to reestablish all their homelands' cultures.
Today there are approximately 200 million African descendants throughout the Americas with large concentrations living in Brazil and the United States contributing daily both politically and economically to the development of these sought-after nations.
We will explore more about this rich African history, as we continue to unveil more history of the "Black Gold."
