African American history entails the American history with regard to black ethnic group that formed its root in America after being enslaved by the whites in their homeland. The heinous tradition of holding blacks in captivity and enslaving them began in the mid 16th century and lasted till 1865. Most of the blacks who make African American history were slaves. They have been called a variety of terms throughout American history, such as Negros and colored. But now, these terms are considered offensive to refer to African Americans. The contribution of African Americans in the history of United States can’t be neglected. Therefore, each year the blacks’ history in America is celebrated in the month of February to honor them. It is known as the Black History Month. It was not until late twentieth century that academic board in the United States decided to include African Americans’ history in their curriculum, which was previously marginalized for a number of reasons.
As mentioned earlier, the 80-85% African Americans population descended from their ancestors, who were brought from Africa to Northern America during slave trade. The rest of 10% arrived of their own accord by means of Caribbean route or other. The Africans who were captured in African wars were sold to various buyers including United States, Europe and Arabia. The slavery had its roots in Africa for centuries but it was not until Europeans arrived who expanded the market looking for low-cost labor. These labors were mostly captured upon false criminal charges or kidnapped.
These slaves were then transported through ships where they were separated from their families and segregated by gender. The first of slaves were brought to Fort Monroe in Hampton during 17th century. Their owner kept them as indentured servants which entailed their release upon serving for a certain period of time. This practice was later replaced by race-based slavery and eventually the relegation of blacks reached the point where the slavery was legalized in Massachusetts, in
