A Brief Profile Of The Igbo People Of JamaicaGuardian Life — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

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Wah gwaan bredrin, everyting ire? Ever heard the word “red eboe” in Jamaica? Your suspicion is true. “Red eboe” was used to refer to the Igbo slaves in Jamaica because of their light skin.

Jamaica witnessed the influx of the Igbo race between 1790 and 1809, a time when the British had just passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. The modern Igbo race dwelt in the Bight of Biafra in Nigeria. It was from here that the Igbos who were kidnapped and sold as slaves by the Europeans were taken to work on plantations.

While it is known that Virginia was the destination point of most slave ships from the Bight of Biafra, the majority of the slave ships from the Bight of Biafra that delivered the slaves to the
Caribbean Islands landed in Jamaica.

Cane cutters in Jamaica. | Photo National Maritime Museum

Cultural Influence

Jamaica’s history cannot be discussed without mentioning the influence of the Igbos. The Igbos influenced the culture, music, the pouring of libation, the…



Source: Guardian Newspaper