Afro-Curaçaoan
| Languages | |
|---|---|
| Papiamentu • Dutch • Spanish • English | |
| Religion | |
| Christians | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afro-Dutch • Afro-Aruban |
An Afro-Curaçaoan is a person from the island of Curaçao of African descent. They make up the majority of Curaçao's population.
Most slaves came from Ghana (15,000 slaves came from this place. Many of them were Ashantis). The rest of the slaves were imported from Senegambia (over 2,000 slaves), Sierra Leone (only 669 slaves came from here), the Windward Coast (542 slaves), Bight of Benin (over 37,000 slaves), the Bight of Biafra (over 1,000 slaves), Angola (specifically Loangos from Cabinda Province. More than 38,000 Central African slaves were exported to Curaçao) and "other" places in Africa (3,268 slaves).
The Dutch West India Company founded the capital of Willemstad on the banks of an inlet called the 'Schottegat'. Curaçao had been ignored by colonists, because it lacked gold deposits. The natural harbour of Willemstad proved to be an ideal spot for trade. Commerce and shipping — and piracy—became Curaçao's most important economic activities. In addition, the Dutch West India Company made Curaçao a centre for the Atlantic slave trade in 1662.
Although a few plantations were established on the island by the Dutch, the first profitable industry established on Curaçao was salt mining. The mineral was a lucrative export at the time and became one of the major factors responsible for drawing the island into international commerce.
For much of the 17th and 18th centuries, the primary business of the island was the slave trade. Slaves arrived often from Africa and were bought and sold on the docks in Willemstad before continuing on to their ultimate destination. The slaves that remained on the island were responsible for working the plantations established earlier. This influx of inexpensive manpower made the labor-intensive agricultural sector far more profitable and between the Netherlands and China the trading done on the docks and the work being done in the fields, the economic profile of Curaçao began to climb, this time built on the backs of the slaves.
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Wikipedia