Beninese American

Beninese American

Lucille Clifton Djimon Hounsou Angélique Kidjo Reda Johnson
Total population
(605 (mainly, naturalized Benineses and Americans who descendants of Beninese immigrants. 2000 American Community Survey))
Regions with significant populations
Found in New York Chicago Washington D.C
Languages
American English French
Religion
Christians Muslims and Practitioners of Beninese traditional religion
Related ethnic groups
African American Other American groups of West Africa Togolese Nigerian Senegalese Ivorian Malian etc. French

Beninese American are Americans of Beninese descent. According to the census of 2000, in the United States there are only 605 Americans of Beninese origin. However, because in the first half of the eighteenth century many slaves were exported from Benin to the present United States, the number of African Americans with one or more Beninese ancestors could be much higher. So, the number of slaves from Bight of Benin exported to present United States exceeded 6,000 people, although this might consist not only in Benin, but also washes the shores of Ghana, Togo and Nigeria. It is also important to note that they were slaves from modern Benin (along with the Haitian immigrants arrived in the United States in the late nineteenth century), who planted voodoo in Louisiana. Currently, there Beninese communities in cities such as Chicago or Washington D.C and in other states as New York.

The first people from present-day Benin who came to United States were slaves, arrived to this country in the colonial period. Most of the slaves of Bight of Benin that hailed from Benin itself were imported to South Carolina (36%), Virginia (23%), Gulf Coast (28%) and Florida (9,8%). The top three picked up a few thousand slaves of this Straits (Florida only received 698 slaves from Bight of Benin). Many of those slaves were imported to Louisiana and Alabama (where was famous the case of Clotilde slave ship, that exported between 110 and 160 slaves from Dahomey to Mobile in 1859, between them to Cudjo Lewis (ca. 1840 – 1935), considered the last person born on African soil to have been enslaved in the United States when slavery was still lawful), both belonging to the Gulf Coast. It was in Louisiana where her presence was notable. Indeed, between 1719 and 1731, most of the slaves who came to that place came directly from Benin. They were especially Fon, but many slaves also were of ethnics such as Nago (Yoruba subgroup, although exported mainly by Spanish, when the Louisiana was Spanish) -, Ewe, and Gen. Many of the slaves imported to the modern United States since Benin were sold by the King of Dahomey, in Whydah. However, not all the slaves sold in day-present Benin were of there: Many were of other places, but were captured by Dahomeyan warriors. The native slaves from current Benin came from places as Porto-Novo, from where were brought to the port of Ouidah, place in the that was realized the slave shopping. This place brought many slaves to the present United States.

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Wikipedia