Afro-Saint Lucians or West African-Saint Lucians, are Saint Lucians whose ancestry lies within West and Central Africa. However, many Afro-Saint Lucians also have small amounts of other ancestry such as Arawak, European and Indian. [citation needed]
As of 2013, people of West and Central African descent are the majority in Saint Lucia, accounting for 82.5% of the country's population. An additional 11.9% of the country is multiracial, predominantly of Afro-European descent (mixture of various West and Central African ethnic groups and European groups) and Afro-Indian descent (mixture of African and Indian/South Asian).[1]
Origins
H. H. Breen, one of the earliest writers to write a detailed study of Saint Lucia, noted during his period little was known about the Island[2] In its early French colonial period, the Bantu slave population were imported from Martinique, or, during bouts of British rule, supplemented by slaves from Barbados.[3] This dominance of Martinique merchants in monopolising the slave imports into the Island has raised the reasonable inference, supported statistically, that most slaves shared a common origin from the Senegambian coast. According to Dalphinis, the majority of slaves from 1695 onwards were indisputably from the Senegambia, comprising mainly Wolof and Mandingo ethnic groups.[3] As a British possession, however, at the end of the eighteenth century, Saint Lucia increasingly imported large numbers of slaves from Akan and Igbo groups.[4]
Consequently, the slave population, diverse but distinct, is shaped over the course of two centuries by Senegambian slaves (including slaves from the Malian hinterland, Fulani, Dyula, Bambara etc.) and Akan (Gold Coast slaves) and Igbo slaves (Bight of Biafra: roughly 3,000 slaves, or 53% of the slaves enter Saint Lucia before the end of Slavery). As to Yoruba, they constitute a strong cultural influence on the Island. In many areas, their cultural impact has left the strongest legacy since many Yoruba came as 'indentured servants' after slavery, introducing the Kele and Ogun ritual rites.[5] Also present in big numbers were the Ambundus Central Africans slaves (more of 1,000 slaves, or 22%).[6]
Between 1600 and 1700, most of the slaves, as noted, came from Senegambia. These slaves were mainly used as servants. Meanwhile, Ewe and Fon slaves, from the Slave Coast, exerted as rural slaves[3]
The ethno-linguistic dominance of specific groups in certain areas of work, had a great importance in the origin of Creole identity [3]
History
In 1763, when the British acquired the island by the Treaty of Paris, they imported enslaved Africans as workers. Caribbean conditions were harsh, and many African slaves, like the Caribs (also used as slaves in the island), died, requiring continued importation of new captives. The British continued to import slaves until they abolished the trade in 1808. By that time, people of ethnic African and less so Carib descent greatly outnumbered those of ethnic European background.[citation needed]
On 21 February 1795, an army of French and African freedom fighters led by Goyrand defeated a battalion of British troops. For the next four months, a united front of recently freed slaves and freedom fighters known as the Brigands (also ex-slaves, who instigated revolt across the region) forced out not only the British army, but many of the slaveholders who had been loyal to the British. Just under a year later, the British Army returned, with many more troops than the freedom fighters could manage, and eventually re-imposed slavery until 1807, when the African slave trade was abolished (although it was not until 1834 that they abolished the institution of slavery).[citation needed]
In 1814, the British regained control of the island, many of those freed had escaped into the thick rain forests.[7]
Even after abolition, all former slaves had to serve a four-year "apprenticeship" which forced them to work for free for their former masters for at least three-quarters of the work week. They achieved full freedom in 1838.[citation needed]
The culture of Saint Lucia has been influenced by African, Arawak, Carib, East Indian, French and British heritage. One of the secondary languages is a Creole, a form of French patois.[8][9]
Languages
The official language is English;[8][9] The official language spoken in Saint Lucia is English although many Saint Lucians also speak a French dialect, Creole (Kwéyòl). The Saint Lucian Creole French (Kwéyòl), which is a French-based Creole colloquially referred to as "Patwah" (Patois), is spoken by 95% of the population.[citation needed] This Antillean Creole is used in literature and music, and is gaining official acknowledgement.[10] It is derived chiefly from French and African languages, with some vocabulary from Carib and other sources. Saint Lucian Creole is related to Haitian Creole that both languages are French-based creole.[11]
The island's cuisine is a unique blend of Indigenous Carib, African, European (mainly British and French) and East Indian cuisine; this creates dynamic meal dishes such as bouillon, hearty soups packed full with fresh locally produced vegetables, hearty fish broths or fish water, pelau, green fig, breadfruit, saltfish and other combinations. Saint Lucian cuisine is similar to that of many other commonwealth Caribbean nations such as Dominica, neighbouring St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad. Typical essential foodstuffs are potatoes, onions, celery, thyme, coconut milk, cassava, flour and cornmeal. All mainstream meat and poultry are eaten in Saint Lucia; meat and seafood are normally stewed and browned to create a rich gravy sometimes served over ground provisions or rice. Due to Saint Lucia's small Indo-Caribbean population curry is very popular, however due to the blend of between cooking styles curry dishes have a distant Caribbean twist to it. Roti, a flatbread of Indian origin, has become very popular and is typically served in households or as a quick meal to go.[citation needed]
Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs (respectively), two Amerindian peoples. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 with an estimated population of over 180,000 people as of 2018. The nation's capital and largest city is Castries.
Saint Lucia was inhabited by the Arawak and Kalinago Caribs before European contact in the early 16th century. It was colonized by the British and French in the 17th century and was the subject of several possession changes until 1814, when it was ceded to the British by France for the final time. In 1958, St. Lucia joined the short-lived semi-autonomous West Indies Federation. Saint Lucia was an associated state of the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1979 and then gained full independence on February 22, 1979.
This is a demography of the population of Saint Lucia including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The French West Indies or French Antilles are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
The Garifuna people are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian Creole.
Afro–Latin Americans or Black Latin Americans are Latin Americans of full or mainly sub-Saharan African ancestry.
Antillean Creole is a French-based creole that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of French, Carib, English, and African languages.
Afro-Caribbean, or Caribbean Creoles, also called West Indian Creoles, are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the trans-Atlantic slave trade between the 15th and 19th centuries to work primarily on various sugar plantations and in domestic households. Other names for the ethnic group include Black Caribbean, Afro or Black West Indian, or Afro or Black Antillean. The term Afro-Caribbean was not coined by Caribbean people themselves but was first used by European Americans in the late 1960s.
The culture of Dominica is formed by the inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Dominica is home to a wide range of people. Although it was historically occupied by several native tribes, it was the Taíno and Island Caribs (Kalinago) tribes that remained by the time European settlers reached the island. "Massacre" is a name of a river dedicated to the murders of the native villagers by both French and British settlers, because the river "ran red with blood for days." Each claimed the island and imported slaves from Africa. The remaining Caribs now live on a 3,700-acre (15 km2) Carib Territory on the east coast of the island. They elect their own chief.
The Culture of Saint Lucia blends the influences of African, French, and English heritage. The official language of the island is English but Kwéyòl, remains an influential secondary language with an English Creole also spoken as well. The people are predominantly Catholic but the religious climate is tolerant.
Dame Marie Selipha Descartes, DBE, SLMM, BEM, best known as Sesenne, was a Saint Lucian singer and cultural icon. Singing in her native patois language, at a time when authorities barred its use, Sesenne developed a wide following in the rural area in which she grew up. Patronage by St. Lucia's first woman legislator led to the singer's "discovery" by a cultural preservationist, who in turn introduced Sesenne to an American anthropologist to make recordings of her songs.
A bélé is a folk dance and music from Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. It may be the oldest Creole dance of the creole French West Indian Islands, and it strongly reflects influences from African fertility dances. It is performed most commonly during full moon evenings, or sometimes during funeral wakes. In Tobago, it is thought to have been performed by women of the planter class at social events in the planters' great houses, and the dress and dance style copied by the enslaved people who worked in or around these houses.
As an overseas department of France, Martinique's culture is French, African and Caribbean. Its former capital, Saint-Pierre, was often referred to as the Paris of the Lesser Antilles. The official language is French, although many Martinicans speak a Creole patois. Based in French, Martinique's Creole also incorporates elements of English, Spanish, Portuguese, and African languages. Originally passed down through oral storytelling traditions, it continues to be used more often in speech than in writing.
Saint Lucian Creole is a French-based creole language that is widely spoken in Saint Lucia. It is the vernacular language of the country and is spoken alongside the official language of English.
Saltibus is located on southwestern side of the Island of Saint Lucia. It belongs to one of two of the 11 quarters, or sections of the island, which were sometimes called "districts", which is no longer under control of the British colonial government as of 1979 AD. The village Saltibus is located northeast of the village of Choiseul, and northwest of the village of Laborie. It is located about 27 km south of Castries, the nation's capital. Saltibus is located in a rain-forest and is well known for its fresh running water and its rich fertile soil. There are a series of waterfalls with heights from 3 to 10 meters in the rain-forest. You could also find many rivers, cold springs and fresh stream. Saltibus has the main water dam which supplies water to the community and several neighboring communities. The economy is largely based on agriculture, in the form of bananas, cocoa, and other tropical produce.
The languages of the Caribbean reflect the region's diverse history and culture. There are six official languages spoken in the Caribbean:
Afro-Nicaraguans are Nicaraguans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Five main distinct ethnic groups exist: The Creoles who descend from Anglo-Caribbean countries and many of whom still speak Nicaragua English Creole, the Miskito Sambus descendants of Spanish slaves and indigenous Central Americans who still speak Miskito and/or Miskito Coast Creole, the Garifunas descendants of Zambos expelled from St. Vincent who speak Garifuna, the Rama Cay zambos a subset of the Miskito who speak Rama Cay Creole, and the descendants of those enslaved by the Spanish.
Dominican Creole French is a French-based creole, which is a widely spoken language in Dominica. It can be considered a distinct dialect of Antillean Creole.
Afro-Dominicans are Dominicans of African descent and the majority of the Commonwealth of Dominica's population.
Afro-Vincentians or Black Vincentians are Vincentians whose ancestry lies within Sub-Saharan Africa.
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