Ex-slave repatriation
Encyclopedia
Ex-slave repatriation or the immigration of African American
, Caribbean
, and Black British
slaves to Africa
occurred mainly during the late 18th century to mid 19th century. In the cases of Liberia
and Sierra Leone
both were established by former slaves who were repatriated to Africa within a 28 year period.
(ACS) of which Thomas Buchanan
(brother to future president
James Buchanan
) was a member.
and its dependencies was initiated by the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor
and was later on taken up by the Sierra Leone Company
. In time, African American Black Loyalists and West Indians would immigrate to the colony of Freetown, Sierra Leone in smaller numbers in efforts led by black merchants or beneficiaries such as Paul Cuffe
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and Black British
Black British
Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...
slaves to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
occurred mainly during the late 18th century to mid 19th century. In the cases of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
both were established by former slaves who were repatriated to Africa within a 28 year period.
Liberia
The repatriation of African American slaves and freed persons to Africa was first advocated by the American Colonization SocietyAmerican Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
(ACS) of which Thomas Buchanan
Thomas Buchanan (Governor of Liberia)
Thomas Buchanan was the second governor of Liberia and a cousin of James Buchanan, President of the United States. He came to Liberia as the envoy of the American Colonization Society in the 1830s. He worked first as an administrator in Grand Bassa, which later had its capital named Buchanan in...
(brother to future president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
) was a member.
Sierra Leone
The repatriation of slaves to Africa from the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and its dependencies was initiated by the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor
Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor
The Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor was a charitable organization founded in London in 1786 to provide sustenance for distressed people of African and Asian origin...
and was later on taken up by the Sierra Leone Company
Sierra Leone Company
The Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the second British colony in Africa in 1792 through the resettlement of black American ex-slaves who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War...
. In time, African American Black Loyalists and West Indians would immigrate to the colony of Freetown, Sierra Leone in smaller numbers in efforts led by black merchants or beneficiaries such as Paul Cuffe
Paul Cuffe
Paul Cuffee was a Quaker businessman, Sea Captain, patriot, and abolitionist. He was of Aquinnah Wampanoag and African Ashanti descent and helped colonize Sierra Leone...
.
Notable repatriated people
- Joseph Jenkins RobertsJoseph Jenkins RobertsJoseph Jenkins Roberts was the first and seventh President of Liberia. Born free in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, Roberts emigrated to Liberia in 1829 as a young man. He opened a trading store in Monrovia, and later engaged in politics...
- first President of Liberia and founding father - Thomas Peters (black leader)Thomas Peters (black leader)Thomas Peters was one of the Black Loyalist Founding Fathers of Sierra Leone. Peters, along with David George, Moses Wilkinson, Cato Perkins, and Joseph Leonard, were influential blacks who recruited African settlers in Nova Scotia for colonization of Sierra Leone...
- African American Black Loyalist leader and founder of Freetown, Sierra Leone - William Coleman - President of Liberia
- Stephen Allen BensonStephen Allen BensonStephen Allen Benson served as the 2nd President of Liberia from 1856 to 1864. Prior to that, he served as the 3rd Vice President of Liberia from 1854 to 1856 under President Joseph Jenkins Roberts....
- President of Liberia - David GeorgeDavid George (Baptist)David George was an African-American Baptist preacher and a Black Loyalist from the American South who escaped to British lines, accepted transport to Nova Scotia and eventually resettled in Freetown, Sierra Leone....
- African American Baptist preacher - Boston KingBoston KingBoston King was a former American slave and Black Loyalist, who gained freedom from the British and settled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War...
- African American Methodist missionaryMissionaryA missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin... - Henry WashingtonHenry WashingtonHenry Washington was a one time African American slave of the first president of the United States, George Washington. His history and linked documents can be found on-line He was a saltwater slave from Africa purchased from a deceased estate in 1763 to be part of Washington's workforce in the...
- African-born slave to first U.S. President George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of... - Daniel CokerDaniel CokerDaniel Coker , born Isaac Wright, was an African American and the first Methodist missionary to the British colony of Sierra Leone.-Early life:...
- African American missionary to Sierra Leone - Edward Jones (missionary)Edward Jones (missionary)Edward Jones was an African American missionary to the colony of Sierra Leone. Jones was a prominent missionary and figure in the colony of Sierra Leone; he was the first naturalized citizen of Sierra Leone . Jones was the first principal of Fourah Bay College...
- AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
missionary to Sierra Leone - Edward J. Roye - President of Liberia, and first president from the True Whig Party
Sources
- http://www.uniboa.org/migration.html
- Black Colonialism: The Americo-Liberian Scramble for the Hinterland