Bights of Benin and Biafra were among the top sources of slaves leaving for the Americas. From the Bight of Benin, slaves from tribes such as Akan, Ga, Fon, Ewe, Yoruba etc. were obtained. Moving east to the Bight of Biafra, slaves from tribes such as Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, Ijaw, Ejagham etc.were obtained. This thread seeks to quantify and compare estimated slave numbers from both bights sent to the new world.

BIGHT OF BENIN (Yoruba, Fon, Ga, Akan, Ewe etc)

Slaves were purchased from different areas of West Africa to Central Africa. Yoruba slaves were exported mainly from the Bight of Benin. The Bight of Benin is/was a long area stretching from modern-day Ghana to South-Western Nigeria. Within this bight, several ports existed where slaves were taken from, ports such as Ouidah, Popo, Offra, Epe, Porto Novo, Lagos/Onim, Badagri etc.

Yorubas were among the African tribes sold in slavery to the new world. Yoruba slaves were often known as 'Anago', 'Nago', 'lukumi' in the new world. Of all tribes sent to the Americas, the Yoruba tradition survived the most, in countries such as Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Trinidad etc. For many years, this has been incorrectly attributed to a preponderance of Yoruba slaves in the new world. However, records kept for slaves disembarking from different regions in West Africa give further insight into the highest survival of Yoruba traditional elements compared to other tribes.

The survival of Yoruba traditional elements is attributed to 2 major reasons: the late emergence of Yoruba slaves in the slave trade and favorable slave conditions and weakened slave laws in Latin American slave colonies in the mid/late 19th century.

According to slave records and numbers for each major region, Yoruba slaves did not feature significantly in the slave trade until towards the last 20 to 30 years of the abolishment of slave trade. The last quarter of the slave trade era coincided with the war period of the kingdom of Oyo in the early 19th century, which provided the bulk of slaves, mostly war captives, leaving the shores of West Africa. The British abolished slavery in 1801 and had stopped dealing in slaves, however the Portuguese continued to secretly purchase slaves from the ports of West Africa for the next 20 to 30 years, this period during which war captives from the Oyo wars formed the majority of slaves sold from the Bight of Benin. This explains why majority of Yoruba slave descendants till today are mostly found in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Cuba etc. However, it was not until 1833 that the British began to enforce the abolishment of slavery by intercepting non-British slave ships leaving the shores of West Africa and dropping these slaves (mostly Yorubas at that time) in Freetown Sierra Leone.

Second, the slaves leaving the shores of West Africa during the last quarter of the slave trade era, , who were mostly Yoruba, arrived Latin America at a time when slave laws had began to weaken significantly and slaves were allowed more freedom of religion and association. Yoruba slaves arrived the new world to meet acculturated slaves, mostly local-born, who had long been stripped of their names, language and culture and had adopted into their new environment. For the Yorubas, they arrived at a time when there was more slave freedom to practice religion and associate, unlike 50 to 100 years earlier. To the other slaves, the arrival of Yoruba slaves and the Ifa religion was highly welcome as it served as a re-connection of their roots back to mama africa, till today. The Ifa religion in Latin America, which originally started as a lukumi-only religion later grew to accommodate non-lukumis seeking to retrace their roots back to mama Africa. It is important to point out that not all practicing members of lukumi-derived religions such as Santeria, Candomble etc. in the new world are necessarily of Yoruba descent, however they identify with Ifa as a remembrance of their African connection.

Thus, the 2 major factors identified to have favored the survival of Yoruba traditional elements in the new world are the late emergence of Nago slaves in slavery and considerably weakened slave laws in Latin American colonies (around the end of the slave trade that allowed slaves more freedom, rights and association) at the time when the bulk of Nago slaves were exported. Contrary to some opinions of millions of Yoruba slaves sold, the overall number of slaves exported from Yoruba-speaking territories is estimated to be less than 500,000.

YORUBA SLAVE NUMBERS EXPORTED FROM BIGHT OF BENIN FROM 1650 TO 1865

The image below is a table of all slave ports in the Bight of Benin and the number of slaves exported from these ports during the entire slave trade period from 1650 to 1865.

Of all these ports, Lagos/Onim port was the number 1 source of Yoruba slaves. A quick look shows that from 1651 to 1750, Lagos exported 0 number of slaves for nearly 100 years. We begin to see the exports from Lagos (mostly Yoruba slaves) start from 1751, attaining its all time high between 1826 and 1850 (during the time of the Oyo empire wars) and dropping thereafter. The table indicates that between 1751, when Lagos slave exports began, and 1865, (end of slavery), 317,300 slaves (let us assume all were Yorubas for simplicity) were exported from Lagos port. That is, 317,300 Yoruba slaves were exported from the port of Lagos during the entire slave trade period of 215 years for Bight of Benin.

Now, there are high chances that some Yoruba slaves were also exported through nearby ports of Badagri and Epe. The slaves from these ports would have included Fon slaves, Ga slaves, Akan slaves, Ewe slaves, Yoruba slaves etc. Assuming all the slaves exported from these 2 ports were all Yoruba slaves, the figures are 53,700 and 85,500 for Epe and Badagry respectively, for a combined total of 139,200.

Assuming all the slaves exported from Lagos, Epe and Badagry were of Yoruba descent, the overall number of all 'Yoruba' slaves exported from these 3 ports in the Bight of Benin is 456,500, or less than half a million. However, realistically speaking, given the fact that many non-Yorubas were often labelled 'lukumi' by the Spanish/Portuguese (see second image below) and not all slaves from these 3 ports were actually Yorubas, especially from the ports of Epe and Badagry, the actual number of Yoruba slaves taken from these 3 ports would be a figure between 300,000 and 400,000.

To add also, that not all 300,000 to 456,500 Yoruba slaves who left the shores of West Africa did make it to the new world. A small percentage who were intercepted by the British and settled in Sierra Leone did not make it to Latin America, out of which some of those intercepted by the British who never left the African continent and settled in Sierra Leone (Saros) actually returned back to Lagos. Out of the majority who made it to Latin America, a small percentage (Agudas) returned to Lagos where they settled. Taking into consideration the numbers of Saros and Agudas, the final number of Yoruba slaves settling in Latin America (mainly Brazil) is a figure between 300,000 to 400,000.

https://books.google.com/books?id=Uk1Tbdsq99gC&pg=PA179&dq=yoruba+slave+population+numbers&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjkzI34o8zRAhWH34MKHZDPDaEQ6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=yoruba%20slave%20population%20numbers&f=false

bigfrancis21:
Yorubas were among the African tribes sold in slavery to the new world. Yoruba slaves were often known as 'Anago', 'Nago', 'lukumi' in the new world. Of all tribes sent to the Americas, the Yoruba tradition survived the most, in countries such as Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Trinidad etc. For many years, this has been incorrectly attributed to a preponderance of Yoruba slaves in the new world. However, records kept for slaves disembarking from different regions in West Africa give further insight into the highest survival of Yoruba traditional elements compared to other tribes.

The survival of Yoruba traditional elements is attributed to 2 major reasons: the late emergence of Yoruba slaves in the slave trade and favorable slave conditions and weakened slave laws in Latin American slave colonies in the mid/late 19th century.

According to slave records and numbers for each major region, Yoruba slaves did not feature significantly in the slave trade until towards the last 20 to 30 years of the abolishment of slave trade. The last quarter of the slave trade era coincided with the war period of the kingdom of Oyo in the early 19th century, which provided the bulk of slaves, mostly war captives, leaving the shores of West Africa. The British abolished slavery in 1801 and had stopped dealing in slaves, however the Portuguese continued to secretly purchase slaves from the ports of West Africa for the next 20 to 30 years, this period during which war captives from the Oyo wars formed the majority of slaves sold from the Bight of Benin. This explains why majority of Yoruba slaves till today are mostly found in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Cuba etc. However, it was not until 1833 that the British began to enforce the abolishment of slavery by intercepting slave ships leaving the shores of West Africa and dropping these slaves (mostly Yorubas at that time) in Freetown Sierra Leone.

Second, the slaves leaving the shores of West Africa, who were mostly Yoruba, during the last quarter of the slave trade era arrived Latin America at a time when slave laws had began to weaken and slaves were allowed more freedom of religion and association. Yoruba slaves arrived the new world to meet acculturated slaves, mostly local-born, who had long been stripped of their names, language and culture and had adopted into their new environment. For the Yorubas, they arrived at a time when there was more freedom to practice religion and associate compared to 50 to 100 years earlier. To the other slaves, the arrival of Yoruba slaves and religion was highly welcome as it served as a re-connection of their roots back to mama africa, till today. The Ifa religion in Latin America, which originally started as a lukumi-only religion later grew to accommodate non-lukumis seeking to retrace their roots back to mama Africa. It is important to point out that not all practicing members of lukumi-derived religions such as Santeria, Candomble etc. in the new world are necessarily of Yoruba descent, however they identify with Ifa as a remembrance of their African connection.

Thus, the 2 major factors identified to have favored the survival of Yoruba traditional elements in the new world are the late emergence of Nago slaves in slavery and considerably weakened slave laws in Latin American colonies towards the ending of the slave trade that allowed slaves more freedom, rights and freedom, compared to slaves arriving 100 years earlier. Contrary to some opinions of millions of Yoruba slaves sold, the overall number of slaves exported from Yoruba-speaking territories is estimated to be less than 500,000.

LIE LIE. IN 1770S BRITISH COLONIALIST CAME TO THE AMERICA WITH 2,5000,000 SLAVES. HOW COME THE OTHER PEOPLE'S LANGUAGES AND TRADITIONS DIDN'T SURVIVED? I AM SURE IT WAS AS A RESULT OF INFERIORITY COMPLEX ..... MANY OF THE YORUBA SOLD INTO SLAVERY WERE WAR CAPTIVES ,BRAVE MEN CAUGHT DURING KIDNAPPING DAYS OR STUBBORN ONES WHO REFUSES TO HEED TO ADVISES. WHAT ABOUT THE IBOS ? BUT I LOVED THESE MEN BECAUSE THEY KEPT IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES AS FROM AN ETHNICITY FROM WEST AFRICA. WHAT A PEOPLE! WHAT A TRADITION AND WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ETHNICITY TO ADORE TO A FAULT.

BIGHT OF BIAFRA (Igbo, Ijaw, Ibibio, Efik, Ejagham etc.)

The awareness of the significant Igbo contribution to the socalled ethnogenesis or formation of African Americans as a group, both ancestrally and culturally seems to be on the increase. In the last two decades several scholars have written many insightful books and articles about the Igbo presence in the USA and especially in Virginia. It’s been known for a longer time already (at least since Curtin 1969) that the Bight of Biafra (the region where Igbo captives were shipped from to the Americas) was the chief supplier of slave imports to Virginia.

While Yoruba slaves were significant in countries like Brazil, and Cuba (Portuguese and Spanish speaking countries), Igbo slaves from Bight of Biafra were significant in the US (Chesapeake region), Jamaica, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Guyana (English-speaking countries), and of lesser significance in Brazil and Cuba.

What was the Igbo Share of Bight of Biafra Captives?
[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/chambers-2002-table1-estimated-percentage-of-igbo-captives1.jpg?w=869[/img]

From the table above, an estimated 1.2 million Igbo slaves left the shores of West Africa for the New world, settling mostly in English-speaking countries such as US, Jamaica, Barbados, St. Kitts, Guyana, St. Vincent etc. and some Latin American countries such as Brazil, Cuba etc.

A major benefit of being aware of the Bight of Biafra’s importance in slave trade to Virginia is that it narrows down the ethnic options when considering any possible Nigerian ancestry. As we can see in the first two charts in absolute numbers Jamaica, Barbados, Cuba and even Brazil were greater importers of enslaved people from the Bight of Biafra than Virginia (Chesapeake). However measured in relative shares it’s apparent that Virginia’s direct contribution from Bight of Biafra (~39%) is unrivalled. Contrasting the relative shares of Bight of Biafra and the Bight of Benin then becomes especially insightful when wanting to zoom in to possible ethnic roots from within Nigeria. Even when there’s many caveats to consider as pointed out also in the second quote about equating slave ports with ethnic groups. In the next section i will delve deeper into this topic.

Another striking feature of the Bight of Biafra slave imports into Virginia concerns the early timing of these arrivals. The relative share of Bight of Biafra being quite consistently high but total slave imports seemingly coming to an end already in the late 1700’s while peaking in between 1726-1750 (see 2nd & 3rd tables). While for other destinations their Bight of Biafra imports were steadily increasing especially in the late 1700’s and even early 1800’s for Cuba & Brazil. This can be correlated with how Virginia’s slave population showed a rather remarkable demographic development in the early 1700’s when compared with most slave populations elsewhere (incl. South Carolina!). Virgina’s slave population being exceptional in its natural growth which decreased the need of additional slave imports. Unlike most other slave societies where high slave mortality usually exceeded any increase by child birth. According to estimates already by the 1730’s a majority of “country born” or “creole” slaves might have existed in Virginia.

[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/lovejoy-et-al-table1-2-destinations-of-africans-from-the-bight-biafra.jpg[/img]

As pointed out in the first quotation it’s useful to learn which approximate provenance region would have been primary throughout the slave trade period and also especially during demographically crucial timeperiods. As can be verified from the various charts above for Virginia it’s clearly the Bight of Biafra which stands out the most as a chief supplier of captives, providing nearly 40% of all documented slave imports from early on. Which is highly significant also compared with other Afro-diasporic groups in the Caribbean or Latin America. Of course generally speaking Afro-Virginians will still essentially be hybridized and of a composite African lineage just like practically all other Afro-descendants. However this does increase the likelyhood of African Americans from Virginia showing an above average Bight of Biafra ancestral contribution.


[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/chambers-2002-table-5frequency-of-igbo-among-biafran-africans-in-the-diaspora-1720-1820cropped.jpg?w=869[/img]

https://tracingafricanroots./2015/06/24/the-igbo-connection-for-virginia-virginia-descendants/

Olu317:
LIE LIE. IN 1770S BRITISH COLONIALIST CAME TO THE AMERICA WITH 2,5000,000 SLAVES. HOW COME THE OTHER PEOPLE'S LANGUAGES AND TRADITIONS DIDN'T SURVIVED? I AM SURE IT WAS AS A RESULT OF INFERIORITY COMPLEX ..... MANY OF THE YORUBA SOLD INTO SLAVERY WERE WAR CAPTIVES ,BRAVE MEN CAUGHT DURING KIDNAPPING DAYS OR STUBBORN ONES WHO REFUSES TO HEED TO ADVISES. WHAT ABOUT THE IBOS ? BUT I LOVED THESE MEN BECAUSE THEY KEPT IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES AS FROM AN ETHNICITY FROM WEST AFRICA. WHAT A PEOPLE! WHAT A TRADITION AND WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ETHNICITY TO ADORE TO A FAULT.

http://ukpuru.tumblr.com/search/igbo+landing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_people_in_Jamaica
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_Americans

Yeah, you might wanna look at some of this, nigga, and quit talking out of your arse. I see you're another nigga who doesn't think exclusive caps makes you look like anything other than a total oloshi.

Trinidad Slave Census 1813
[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/paul-lovejoy-ethnic-origins-of-slaves-1813-part211.jpg[/img]

Antigua Slave Census 1757 - 1833
[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/antigua-1757-1833.jpg[/img]

Saint Lucia Slave Census 1815
[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/birthplaces-of-slaves-st-luciab.jpg[/img]

Saint Kitts Slave Census 1817
[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/birthplaces-slaves-st-kitts-1817.jpg[/img]

Guyana – Slave Census Berbice 1819
[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/birthplaces-of-slaves-berbiceb.jpg[/img]

African Ethnicities in the West Indices
[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/hall-2005-bight-of-biafra-breakdown-for-anglo-caribbean.jpg[/img]

I doubt this !!!!!......but its you thread

babyfaceafrica:
I doubt this !!!!!......but its you thread

I don't see any reason to doubt someone who produces nothing but pure fact. Why wouldn't a sane person believe?

Probz:


I don't see any reason to doubt someone who produces nothing but pure fact. Why wouldn't a sane person believe?

you sources are questionable...also 500k Yoruba slaves is a lie!!!!!!

babyfaceafrica:
you sources are questionable...also 500k Yoruba slaves is a lie!!!!!!

456,000 actually, that is assuming all slave exports from the ports of Lagos, Badagry and Epe were Yoruba. That is what the figures are. The more accurate number would be somewhere around 350,000. One good thing about Europeans is that they often kept records of things they did. The results of slave census and records are quite shocking, especially when they go against popularly held opinions.

babyfaceafrica:
you sources are questionable...also 500k Yoruba slaves is a lie!!!!!!

Was it me who posted the sources and started the thread, though?

bigfrancis21:


456,000 actually, that is assuming all slave exports from the ports of Lagos, Badagry and Epe were Yoruba. That is what the figures are. The more accurate number would be somewhere around 350,000. One good thing about Europeans is that they often kept records of things they did. The results of slave census and records are quite shocking, especially when they go against popularly held opinions.

lolz...so they cannot manipulate records...why do people thing it is only Africans that are dishonest?

Probz:


Was it me who posted the sources and started the thread, though?

oh..my bad

babyfaceafrica:
lolz...so they cannot manipulate records...why do people thing it is only Africans that are dishonest?

There is no reason for them to manipulate records when it is of no benefit to them. Moreover, these records were made in the 19th century without any emotional attachment to any Bight or tribe actually.

bigfrancis21:


There is no reason for them to manipulate records when it is of no benefit to them. Moreover, these records were made in the 19th century without any emotional attachment to any Bight or tribe actually.

what makes you so sure?

babyfaceafrica:
what makes you so sure?

Remove this your subjective bias and see through a clear lens.

Probz:


Remove this your subjective bias and see through a clear lens.

lolz...enjoy ur day

babyfaceafrica:
you sources are questionable...also 500k Yoruba slaves is a lie!!!!!!

Could you provide sources if you think the figure should be higher?

bigfrancis21:


Could you provide sources if you think the figure should be higher?

okay...

Interesting.

I await for opposing views from Yorubas.

[img]https://tracingafricanroots.files./2015/06/tast-va-vs-west-indies-brazil.jpg[/img]

So all those 1.2m slaves can not keep their culture or tradition while just 400k slaves can. Please tell me something else.

Everyone knows Yorubas were not sold in large numbers until the Yoruba Wars of the 19th century which followed the collapse of imperial Oyo. No news there.

Despite being smaller, their cultural impact in the New Word is DOMINANT. Yorubas are the single most culturally influential ethnic group in the Black Diaspora. By contrast, the Igbo who were sold in much larger numbers are almost culturally invisible in the New World. This is a clear indicator of who among the two had a more advanced, impactful culture.

Meanwhile, I still don't understand why people compare slave numbers as if being enslaved in large numbers is anything to be proud of.

RedboneSmith:
Everyone knows Yorubas were not sold in large numbers until the Yoruba Wars of the 19th century which followed the collapse of imperial Oyo. No news there.

Despite being smaller, their cultural impact in the New Word is DOMINANT. Yorubas are the single most culturally influential ethnic group in the Black Diaspora. By contrast, the Igbo who were sold in much larger numbers are almost culturally invisible in the New World. This is a clear indicator of who among the two had a more advanced, impactful culture.

Meanwhile, I still don't understand why people compare slave numbers as if being enslaved in large numbers is anything to be proud of.

@bold...not really everybody that knows this. You would be surprised to find out some people incorrectly exaggerate the numbers to several millions.

@indent...Exactly. For this purpose this thread was created which explains the reason for the cultural domination - being the last to arrive Latin America. It is interesting to note how Yoruba slaves destined for Latin America who got intercepted by the British and settled in in Africa/Freetown (aku people, who form the greater krio population of SL) did not retain the language and customs but those in far away Latin America retained bits of the religion. Some of them in SL bear Yoruba middle or last names, though majority bear English names.

It is worthy to note here that slaves from Congo and Angola were numerous also in numbers, often surpassing the number of Igbo slaves in certain regions. However, very few of the Congolese and Angolan traditions survived, just like the Igbo. This goes to explain that it is not numbers that is critical to the survival of religion but, rather, a matter of when or how recently you arrived the new world and the prevailing circumstances you met compared to those who arrived 100 to 200 years earlier when ancestral stripping of slaves was in full effect. English slave masters were known to enforce this strictly than Portuguese slave holders.

pazienza:
Interesting.

I await for opposing views from Yorubas.

why should there even be opposing views? It is in fact a thing of pride that Yorubas weren't raped and forced into slavery in large numbers yet have its culture so dominant in the diaspora

History let's us know that we didn't sell ourselves and weren't sold by others until towards the Fall of Oyo empire in the late 18th century.

RedboneSmith:
Everyone knows Yorubas were not sold in large numbers until the Yoruba Wars of the 19th century which followed the collapse of imperial Oyo. No news there.

Despite being smaller, their cultural impact in the New Word is DOMINANT. Yorubas are the single most culturally influential ethnic group in the Black Diaspora. By contrast, the Igbo who were sold in much larger numbers are almost culturally invisible in the New World. This is a clear indicator of who among the two had a more advanced, impactful culture.

Meanwhile, I still don't understand why people compare slave numbers as if being enslaved in large numbers is anything to be proud of.

I no sabi this nigga. Some of your recent posts suggest you're an Igbo guy and you're here proclaiming Yorubas as the most dominant and influential black nation in the African diaspora. Can't you make up your mind?

Probz:


I no sabi this nigga. Some of your recent posts suggest you're an Igbo guy and you're here proclaiming Yorubas as the most dominant and influential black nation in the African diaspora. Can't you make up your mind?

So I cannot be an Igbo man who calls it as it is? Everything has to be about blindly defending the 'Igbo nation'?

macof:




why should there even be opposing views? It is in fact a thing of pride that Yorubas weren't raped and forced into slavery in large numbers yet have its culture so dominant in the diaspora

History let's us know that we didn't sell ourselves and weren't sold by others until towards the Fall of Oyo empire in the late 18th century.

Come to think of this, one would wonder why did the language not survive as a living language of use in the house, market place etc. given the prevailing favorable circumstances and times when Yoruba slaves arrived? I was reading an article and it mentioned that as of early 1900s, slaves/ex-slaves were allowed greater freedom and some lukumi native speakers (mostly born in Cuba and taught the language by their parents who arrived in the mid 1800s) could still be found in Cuba, especially tending to Ifa shrines. Why did they not pass on this language to their offsprings? It would seem that the language died mostly with the second generation bilingual lukumi and portuguese speakers and completely by the third generation.

bigfrancis21:


He's from Illah in Delta Igboland and he prefers to be called Igala.

Do not be silly. I made it clear on that post that while my roots lie in Igalaland, I accept that we have been Igbonised and i have no problem being called Igbo. What i insist on is recounting history as it is, not as we would want it to be.

Offline I am a member of a number of pan-Igbo organisations. And I am working hand in hand with some pro-Igbo elements in Anioma to unify Igbos on both sides of the Niger. What have you done for Igbo unity besides posting ego-massaging posts on Nairaland?

RedboneSmith:


So I cannot be an Igbo man who calls it as it is? Everything has to be about blindly defending the 'Igbo nation'?

Yeah, it's not even about 'blindly defending the Igbo nation.' It's more about facing facts when presented with them instead of positing the same old biased subjectivity in light of all the evidence that suggests otherwise.

Me, I'm no IPOB nigga either. But I'm not one to reason with facts when presented.

Probz:


Yeah, it's not even about 'blindly defending the Igbo nation.' It's more about facing facts when presented with them instead of positing the same old biased subjectivity in light of all the evidence that suggests otherwise.

Me, I'm no IPOB nigga either. But I'm not one to reason with facts when presented.

My comment here which you quoted is not subjective, thank you very much. A little tongue in cheek, yes.