| Researching African-Carribean Family History |
|
|
|
| Written by Sarah Blackstock, Curator BM&AG 2001 | |
| Friday, 21 September 2001 | |
|
Researching African-Carribean Family History At the start of the 21st Century, it seems British people are obssessed with tracing their family history. Just go up to the sixth floor of the Central library in Birmingham City centre and see many middle-aged white people in the Geneaolgy section, or think about the number of TV programmes that periodically appear, which are devoted to the subject. On the last one I remember seeing, 'Bloodlines', it was claimed that Family History is the number one hobby in Britain. But what is the attraction - and what possibilities does it hold for Black communities? As someone who is currently researching their genealogy, I'd like to discuss the possibilties of empowerment for people of African-Caribbean descent that could be derived from discovering their family history. I shall then provide a general 'How To..' on the subject for those of you who may be interested but have no idea how to start. It is a misconception amongst African-Caribbean people that it is impossible to trace your family tree. The legacy of slavery has meant that we subconciously see ourselves as being 'rootless'. Torn from Africa and taken across the world to lands that were unfamiliar - to live amongst peoples that were unfamiliar and to speak unfamiliar tongues, it is easy to see how we would imagine it difficult to trace our history past two or three generations. But with enough determination, and a strong sense of 'self' and of the past, I believe it is possible to trace your earliest ancestor in captivity. This would have implications as to which region in Africa that ancestor originated, as Slaveholders kept meticulous records about their capital - namely slaves. As soon as a slave was purchased, they were added to plantation records along with their 'nationality'; which would be African or Creole (slaves born in captivity). If they were African, their tribe would also have been included. We are told - if we are told anything about slavery - that we had our names, our cultures and our languages taken away from us by the master. On one level this is true. But on another level, there was much cultural retention (Scholars of slavery note this was particularly true in Jamaica). When forced to speak European languages, Slaves invigorated those languages with African syntax, grammatical structures and phonology to such an extent that they could understand 'massa', but conversely, 'massa' could not understand them. Examples like these were utilised by Slaves as a basis for rebellion against plantation society, and as a basis for survival. Rebellion is more than the hand-to-hand combat of Slave Revolts and Uprisings and the guerilla warfare of the Maroons. It is also about the subtle and covert measures that were utilised and - alongside violent revolt undermined the fabric of Slave societies throughout the Americas. (see Bush;1990) So what then, can family history offer to the descendants of these people who were stolen and shackled? Historians and society at large understand the importance of knowing ones' past in order to have a sense of ones present and future. American historian David Lowenthal says that, "Awareness of the past is in myriad ways essential to our well-being." (Lowenthal;p185;1985) African-Caribbean people in Britain suffer (partly) as a result of historical amnesia, and it is amnesia because history is rooted in memory (Lowenthal;1985). Black people tend to turn away from the history of slavery for a number of reasons; shame arguably being the foremost reason. But we are ashamed of our slave past largely due to a Eurocentric understanding of slavery and its social systems. We have no need to be ashamed, or to see our enslaved ancestors as helpless victims. They had the strength to survive and live life to the full. They would fill what little time they had to themselves with love and laughter. They were creative and musical; some of them were of noble birth, many of them were defiant of slave society. If we understand the lives and the histories of these people - our people, then maybe we can re-assess the way we view slavery. To do that, we need to carry out more research. Most scholars of slavery are white academics - which is all well and good, they have done marvellous work in the re-assessment of slavery, but the communities who still suffer today as a result of slavery need to do more research into the subject, and then research our history beyond slavery. A good way of doing this is to begin with family history, which illuminates the personal connection between ourselves 'today' and people 'yesterday'. So where does one start? The first step should be an oral history interview with an elderly relative. This should provide the family historian with the names of grandparents and great-grandparents and the particular region they came from. This interview may provide any family stories or important dates that can later be verified against written evidence. Any documentation should be collected or copied, i.e birth, death and marriage certificates obtained in this country or brought from your relatives from back-home. Naturalization and citizenship papers are also good sources of information. From there, it had previously been necessary to make a trip to the Caribbean to trawl through the archives of the given island or country. But now it is possible to do the bulk of your research on the internet. Here are a list of sites dedicated to Caribbean genealogy:
This list is by know means exhaustive, and you can use any search engine to come up with alternative sites. A research trip to the Caribbean may prove necessary to tie up loose ends as you near the completion of your research - but that can be combined with a holiday that you would have taken anyway. Finally, it will be a lengthy process but do not be disheartened - the rewards for yourself, your family and your community will outweigh any difficulties. Sarah Blackstock 2001 Bibliography 'Slave Women in Caribbean Society; 1650-1838' Barbara Bush, James Currey 1990 'The Past is a Foreign Country' David Lowenthal, Cambridge University Press, 1974 |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|