Everything African was perceived as being heathen, backward and evil. In spite of these attempts to destroy an entire culture, some aspects of African culture have survived. Today the African influence is still present in music, dance, food, religion, language, handicraft and place names in Trinidad and Tobago.
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What food did the African bring to Trinidad?
African Food
It was during the African slave trade that culinary influence from West Africa came to the Caribbean. The foods used were plantain, pigeon peas, taro or dasheen, breadfruit, ackee, dasheen bush (taro leaves), okra, mango and saltfish.
What African slaves were brought to Trinidad?
The most common ethnic groups of the enslaved Africans in Trinidad and Tobago were Igbo, Kongo, Ibibio and Malinke people. All of these groups, among others, were heavily affected by the Atlantic slave trade.
What did slaves in the Caribbean eat?
The slaves’ diet consisted of a mix of traditional African foods brought over to the Caribbean (including okra, blackeyed peas, saltfish, ackee, mangos, kidney beans and rice), vegetables and fruits native to the Caribbean (such as papaya, yams, guavas and cassava).
What did the African slaves eat?
Maize, rice, peanuts, yams and dried beans were found as important staples of slaves on some plantations in West Africa before and after European contact. Keeping the traditional “stew” cooking could have been a form of subtle resistance to the owner’s control.
How many African slaves were brought to Trinidad?
A census of the enslaved in 1813 recorded 25,696 Africans in Trinidad. In Tobago, approximately 11,500 Africans were recorded at emancipation in 1834. But not all Africans who came to Trinidad and Tobago were enslaved.
Who brought slaves to Trinidad?
slaver Isaac Duverne
Enslaved Africans in Trinidad
In 1606, four hundred and seventy (470) enslaved Africans were brought to Trinidad by Dutch slaver Isaac Duverne. This was the first recorded instance of enslaved Africans being brought to the island.
What did slaves do in Trinidad?
Land was available and many of the ex-slaves bought or rented land and made a living by growing their own crops. Other slaves gravitated towards Port of Spain and San Fernando where they became artisans, craftsmen, builders and domestics.
What did slaves do for fun?
During their limited leisure hours, particularly on Sundays and holidays, slaves engaged in singing and dancing. Though slaves used a variety of musical instruments, they also engaged in the practice of “patting juba” or the clapping of hands in a highly complex and rhythmic fashion. A couple dancing.
How much did slaves get paid?
Wages varied across time and place but self-hire slaves could command between $100 a year (for unskilled labour in the early 19th century) to as much as $500 (for skilled work in the Lower South in the late 1850s).
Why were the African slaves brought to the Caribbean?
The spread of sugar ‘plantations‘ in the Caribbean created a great need for workers. The planters increasingly turned to buying enslaved men, women and children who were brought from Africa.
How long did slaves live?
interested in the life span of slaves after they were given a full task. the average age at death was 41.8 years, while of those dying during I890- 19I4 the average age at death was 50.2 years”.
Where do slaves sleep?
Slaves on small farms often slept in the kitchen or an outbuilding, and sometimes in small cabins near the farmer’s house. On larger plantations where there were many slaves, they usually lived in small cabins in a slave quarter, far from the master’s house but under the watchful eye of an overseer.
What did House slaves look like?
Whereas many field workers were not given sufficient clothing to cover their bodies, house slaves tended to be dressed with more modesty, sometimes in the hand-me-downs of masters and mistresses. Most slaves lived in similar dwellings, simple cabins furnished sparely. A few were given rooms in the main house.
Did Trinidad and Tobago have slavery?
Under British rule, Trinidad’s development as a sugar colony continued, although in 1806–07 the slave trade was completely prohibited. Slavery was abolished in two stages between 1834 and 1838, and the sugarcane planters were unable to secure the steady, tractable, and cheap labour they wanted.
What race is Trinidad?
Among its neighbours, the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago stands out due to its ethnic makeup. The population of most Caribbean nations is mainly of African descent; similar to Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago is evenly divided between Afro-Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians.
How did slavery end in Trinidad and Tobago?
Slavery was abolished in 1833, after which former slaves served an “apprenticeship” period which ended on 1 August 1838 with full emancipation.
What percentage of Trinidad is black?
40%
Trinidad and Tobago – Ethnic groups
The total population is estimated at 40% black, 40.3% East Indian, 18% mixed, 0.6% white, and 1.2% Chinese and other.
What did the Amerindians contribute to Trinidad and Tobago?
The Amerindians developed the canoe, the bow and arrow, and the ajoupa. Amerindian cuisine is enjoyed by many Trinidadians: Cassava bread and Farine; Warap; barbecued wild game; corn pastelles; coffee; cocoa; chadon beni.
Who came to Trinidad first?
The first settlers in Trinidad and Tobago are reported to have been two First Peoples (aka Amerindian) tribes as early as 5000BC, often described as the Arawaks and the Caribs, though new research has provided a number of alternative narratives.
Why did Trinidad get slaves?
With the increase in the price of sugar in Europe more and more sugar plantations were set up to meet the increasing demand. This in turn fueled the need for more slave labour. In the beginning labour needs were met by the slaves who were brought to Trinidad with their French masters. These slaves were creole.
