A collaborative historical and genetic study into what shapes the African genetic landscape of the Americas and Caribbean reveals new evidence of the past. “We see a lot of U.S.-based African Americans with ancestry from Nigeria and specifically connections to the ethnolinguistic groups, the Yoruba, Esan and Igbo. And why this was so surprising is the transatlantic shipping records indicate that people around Nigeria weren’t directly arriving in the U.S. in high numbers. But what we have to realize is that enslaved people were being forced between and within the Americas over centuries. So not all the movement was happening across the Atlantic. It was also happening between all these countries and within all of these countries.”

Researchers have compiled genetic data from consenting 23andMe research participants to paint a more complete picture of African ancestry in the New World. By linking genetic data with slave trade historical records, the findings reinforce harsh truths about slavery in the Americas and uncover insights into its history, including the methods used to suppress and exploit Africans once they disembarked.

“In discussing this extreme finding with historians and looking through the historical literature, we found indications that men were far less likely to reproduce, partly because they were at higher risk of dying early if they were having to participate in rice farming or sugar cane farming, which was very risky,” she explains. At the same time, enslaved African women were often being forced to reproduce. In parts of Latin America, “there would be initiatives to encourage European men to father children with African women in order to do something that they called dilute the African gene pool,” she says.

It is really big progress. But the study had limitations. Out of 50000 approximate individuals who shared their genetic data, only 2000 are from Africa. More people from Africa should be involved in this study. More data is needed in the broader field of genomics for the researchers to drill down deeper. We hope this paper helps people in the Americas of African descent further understand where their ancestors came from and what they overcame

>"Genetic data available corroborates much of what historians already knew — but also reveals some surprises."

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