What African countries can Afro-Saint Lucian people trace their ancestry back to?

Answer 1

I can't speak specifically of Afro-St Lucians but given that they arrived in St Lucia as part of the trans Atlantic slave trade it seems logical that the African regions which contributed most significantly to that slave population would also have a major part to play in the slave population of St Lucia.

Working on that assumption then the figures (published by the Cambridge University Press) suggest that the African regions from which the majority of slaves were taken (between 1690 and 1900) were ;

West Central Africa - 3,945,000

Bight of Benin - 2,016,200

Bight of Biafra - 1,463,700

Gold Coast - 1,036,600

Slaves were taken from other African regions but none are recorded as contributing more than 500,000.

If we look at these regions as modern day countries we can say that;

West Central Africa roughly comprises the modern day nations known as ;

Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.

These countries (or the land that they now occupy) can be said between them to have contributed almost 50% of all slaves transported across the Atlantic in the 300 or so years of active slave trade.

Approximately 20% of all Transatlantic slaves over the same period came from the Bight of Benin - or the modern day countries of ; Nigeria, Benin and Togo

15% came from the Bight of Biafra - Largely now Cameroon and some of Gabon.

10% came from the Gold Coast - Now known as the Ivory Coast or Cote D'Ivoire.

So, apologies for not being precise but it is at least statistically likely that Afro-St Lucians can trace their ancestry back to many of the countries listed above.