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Year: 18th and 19th century
Who: Enslaved African Blacksmiths
Where: Chesapeake and New Orleans
What: Europeans witnessed African blacksmiths’ art from west and west-central Africa, with pieces from as far back as the early fifteenth century. This led them to enslave Africans from these regions to complete metal works in the colonies. Highly skilled enslaved ironworkers like Abraham and Bill in the 1760s helped manage large iron furnaces. In their ironworks, enslaved African blacksmiths used symbols from their cultures as lasting representations of their heritage.
Sources:
Websites:
National Park Service. (n.d.). Further Reading: African American Heritage and Ethnography - Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. https://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/Chesapeake_furthRdg6.htm
Very Local. (n.d.). The Untold Story of New Orleans' Black Blacksmiths. https://www.verylocal.com/the-untold-story-of-new-orleans-black-blacksmiths/21308/
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