Tuesday, August 28, 2012

African Descendents

It is well known and documented that the Carib and Arawak Indians are the indigenous aboriginal people of Dominica, but it is not as widely known where the black population come from. Relatively few are the descendants of British owned slaves. Columbus found a black population on Dominica. During his second voyage in 1493, Columbus was told by the Indians of Espanola (Haiti), that Black people had been to the island before his arrival. Where did they come from? How did they get here? They came on rafts powered by the trade winds and the main stream current. Coming from West Africa they simply sailed directly across; coming from East African they came around Cape Horn and caught the trade winds taking them to the Caribbean Ocean and Islands. There is also a population with very deep French roots. These people came to France from French Africa, and from France they emigrated to the French owned islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique as Frenchmen. Guadeloupe and Martinique are within easy reach of Dominica. French surnames are prevalent in Dominica. Dominicans proudly identify themselves as “African Descendants”.