Gabonese Americans
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Less than 300[1]) | |
| Languages | |
| Fang, English, French | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Islam, Bwiti, Animism |
Gabonese Americans are Americans of Gabonese descent. Based in the DNA analysis, during the American colonial period at least some West African slaves from present-day Gabon arrived to the modern United States.
History
During the Atlantic slave trade some Africans arrived in the United States belonging to ethnicities such as the Fang, Benga, Benza and Kota. [2][3][4]
Approximately 65,000 of the African slaves that arrived to the United States came from the Bight of Biafra, which is partially located in what is now northern Gabon. 45,000 of these people arrived in the Chesapeake region. People from the Bight of Biafra were the largest group of African slaves to arrive to the United States between the 1690s and 1750s. They formed less than 9 percent (about 18,000 people) of the total African population existing in The Carolinas (mostly living in South Carolina) and Georgia.[5] Virginia and South Carolina together were home to 30,000 slaves hailing from the Bight. More than 1,000 people from the Bight arrived in Maryland.
Later, since the abolition of slavery and independence of Gabon, a small number of Gabonese nationals have emigrated to United States from the modern Gabon. They arrived to USA fleeing the wars that have taken place there after independence and seeking political asylum. In addition, many young Gabonese migrated to other countries to study at universities. In United States, there about 250 Gabonese students in different colleges.[6]
Notable Gabonese-Americans
References
- ↑ "Table 1. First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question by Detailed Ancestry Code: 2000". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
- ↑ "Jackson Rice Simmons Finding Your Roots". genealogy-research-tools.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Brown president traces roots Brown chief unearths her roots - Arts - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ↑ Your Genetic Genealogist. "Your Genetic Genealogist". Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ↑ "Peoples from the Kongo and the Bight of Biafra - U.S. Slave Trade - The Abolition of The Slave Trade". Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ↑ Lucy M. Long (2015). Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Editorial: Rowan and Littlefield. Page 209.
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