The Atlantic Slave Trade and the Afrocentric Identityin the United States of Americaand the Caribbean Since the 19th Century

Abstract

Historically, slavery as an institution has existed throughout both ancient and modern civilizations, while its peculiarities and nuances have varied in different societies. However, none has generated as much controversy as the trans-Atlantic slave trade due to the physical and psychological dehumanizing methods employed by the slave masters to subdue the minds of the enslaved. The relentless endurance of this atrocious trade during the centuries of its prevalence had debased and scarred the African identity not only on the continent but also in the diaspora. This paper will examine the complexities of the Atlantic slave trade and its impact on the Afrocentric personality since the 19th century. The crux of this paper, however, is to probe into how the residues of slavery have, over time, formed a continuum of mental incarceration among people of African descent in selected areas such as the United States of America, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. In addition, the keynote of the study explores psychological concepts such as psychodynamics, epigenetics, and trans-generational trauma and the multidimensionality of its impacts on the Afrocentric consciousness engendered by centuries of dilapidating prejudicial practices meted against people of African extraction. This paper will interpret historical evidence using secondary sources.