You might have heard some Jamaicans calling Africa our homeland. Our most famed National Hero, Marcus Garvey Through the UNIA, pushed to support the "back to Africa" movement, and created the Black Star Line to act as the Black owned passenger line that would carry patrons back and forth to Africa. Africa is where many of our ancestors are from. Our ancestors were brought here by force through slavery and that in itself is a brutal and dehumanizing part of our history which we will explore in another video.

This video is a continuation of our series, "Out of Many, One People" where we speak to the Africans who came. So, let's get into it. According to research, the first Africans arrived in Jamaica in 1513 as servants to the Spanish settlers. These Africans were freed by the Spanish when the English captured the island in 1655. They immediately fled to the mountains where they fought to retain their freedom and became the first Maroons.

For those who need a refresher, the Spanish were the first to colonize Jamaica. It was called Xaymaca at the time and the indigenous group called the Tainos/Arawaks lived here. Christopher Columbus' arrival to Jamaica in 1494 disrupted the tainos' lives and brought diseases and destruction, almost causing the Tainos to be wiped from Jamaicans' bloodline. The Spanish had some Africa slaves but it was the British who fought the Spanish to get Jamaica as one of their colonies that brought the most Africans through the Trans-altantic Slave Trade. Sadly, the slave trade was facilitated by Africans abducting other Africans.
The abducted/captured were then placed in trading posts or forts to await the six- to twelve-week Middle Passage voyage between Africa and the Americas. And that's something we'll also explore in another video. Note The slave trade was abolished in 1807. By then, almost 2 million slaves were traded to Jamaica. So you see why Jamaicans are 90% African descendants?

But who were the Africans who came to Jamaica? Weh dem come from? What culture, language, practices they brought with them? And which country or countries in Africa should Jamaicans call home?

Now, we often say Africa as a collective but it is such a unique continent. Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both aspects. Over 50 countries with about 3,000 tribes and 2,000 languages and dialects. The cultures of Africa are multi-layered and multifaceted with a complex history. So it's important we know more about the countries, tribes and cultures and not just use a blanket statement that we are from Africa. There's just so much more to know.

Now as it relates to where in Africa our African ancestors are from, research shows Most Jamaican slaves came from the region of modern day Ghana, Nigeria and Central Africa, and included the Akan, Ashanti, Yoruba, Ibo and Ibibio peoples. It is stated that the majority of the Africans brought here were Akan people. The Akan (/ˈækæn/) people are a Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan includes sub groups such as Ashanti, Fante, Bono, Agona and more. Our next video in this series which look into the people and culture of the Akan which is said to be one of the largest ethnic groups in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. So, watch out fi part 2. This is just a short introduction to what's coming next in this series.

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