1.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
2.
Catholicism
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The use of terms catholicism and catholicity is closely related to the use of term Catholic Church. The earliest evidence of the use of term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I limited use of the term Catholic Christian exclusively to those who followed the faith as Pope Damasus I of Rome. Numerous other early writers including Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine of Hippo further developed the use of the term catholic in relation to Christianity. In Christian theology, and specially in ecclesiology, terms Catholicism, when used with small c, terms catholicism and catholicity generally designate theological doctrine of the catholicity of the Church without denominational connotations. A common belief in Catholicism is institutional continuity with the early Christian church founded by Jesus Christ, many churches or communions of churches identify singularly or collectively as the authentic church. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils, when the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Romes influence was sometimes challenged. The first great rupture in the Church followed this Council and they are often called Ancient Oriental Churches. The next major break was after the Council of Chalcedon and this Council repudiated Eutychian Monophysitism which stated that the divine nature completely subsumed the human nature in Christ. This Council declared that Christ, though one person, exhibited two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation and thus is both fully God and fully human, the next great rift within Christianity was in the 11th century. This division between the Western Church and the Eastern Church is called the East–West Schism, several eastern churches reunited, constituting some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, in all these cases the beliefs and practices of Catholicism would be identical with the beliefs and practices of the Church in question. However, in Roman Catholicism, the term catholic is understood as to cover those who recognize and are in standing with the Magisterium. The sense given to the word by those who use it to distinguish their position from a Calvinistic or Puritan form of Protestantism. It is then meaningful to attempt to draw up a list of common characteristic beliefs, the Roman Catholic Church includes the 23 rites who recognize the Magisterium. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the belief that Christ is made manifest in the elements of Holy Communion, possession of the threefold ordained ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and this teaching is preserved in both written scripture and in unwritten tradition, neither being independent of the other. A belief in the necessity and efficacy of sacraments, liturgical and personal use of the Sign of the Cross The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship
3.
Haitian Vodou
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Haitian Vodou is a syncretic religion practiced chiefly in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Practitioners are called vodouists or servants of the spirits, Vodouists believe in a distant and unknowable Supreme Creator, Bondye. According to Vodouists, Bondye does not intercede in human affairs, religious practices of contemporary Vodou are descended from, and closely related to, West African Vodun as practiced by the Fon and Ewe. In Haiti, whereas a small number of Roman Catholics combine their faith with aspects of Vodou. Vodou is a Haitian Creole word that referred to only a small subset of Haitian rituals. Two of the major speaking populations of Ayizo are the Ewe and these two peoples composed a sizable number of the early enslaved population in St Dominique. These terms also refer to the religion as a whole, outside of Haiti, the term Vodou refers to the entirety of traditional Haitian religious practice. Originally written as vodun, it is first recorded in Doctrina Christiana, in the following centuries, Vodou was eventually taken up by non-Haitians as a generic descriptive term for traditional Haitian religion. There are many used orthographies for this word, today, the spelling Vodou is the most commonly accepted orthography in English. The spelling voodoo, once common, is now generally avoided by Haitian practitioners and scholars when referring to the Haitian religion. Vodou is popularly described as not simply a religion, but rather an experience that ties body, the concept of tying that exists in Haitian religious culture is derived from the Congolese tradition of kanga, the practice of tying ones soul to something tangible. This tying of soul is evident in many Haitian Vodou practices that are still exercised today, Vodouisants believe in a Supreme God called Bondye, from the French bon good + Dieu God. When it came in contact with Roman Catholicism, the Supreme Creator was associated with the Christian God, since Bondye is considered unreachable, Vodouisants aim their prayers to lesser entities, the spirits known as loa, or mistè. The most notable loa include Papa Legba, Erzulie Freda, Simbi, Kouzin Zaka and these loa can be divided into 21 nations, which include the Petro, Rada, Congo, and Nago. Each of the loa is associated with a particular Roman Catholic saint, for example, Legba is associated with St. Anthony the Hermit, and Damballa is associated with St. Patrick. The loa also fall into groups who share a surname, such as Ogou, Ezili. For instance, Ezili is a family, Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda are two individual spirits in that family, vodous moral code focuses on the vices of dishonor and greed. There is also a notion of relative propriety—and what is appropriate to someone with Dambala Wedo as their head may be different from someone with Ogou Feray as their head, for example, one spirit is very cool and the other is very hot
4.
Haitians
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Haitians are the inhabitants and citizens of Haiti. A Haitian can be also a person abroad to a Haitian parent or a foreigner living in Haiti who acquired Haitian citizenship. According to the Constitution of Haiti, a Haitian citizen is, Anyone, the Haitian Constitution of 2012 re-legalizes dual citizenship, allowing for Haitians living abroad to own land and run for Haitian political office. The official languages of Haiti are French and Haitian Creole, however, because the vast majority of Haitians speak only Creole, there have been efforts in recent years to expand its uses. In 1979, a law was passed that permitted Creole to be the language of instruction, however, it was only in 1987 that the Constitution granted official status to Creole. Haitian art, known for its vibrant color work and expressive design, is a tradition, reflecting strong African roots with Indigenous American and European aesthetic. It is an important representation of Haitian culture and history. Haitian art is distinctive, particularly in painting and sculpture where brilliant colors, naive perspective, frequent subjects in Haitian art include big, delectable foods, lush landscapes, market activities, jungle animals, rituals, dances, and gods. The music of Haiti combines a range of influences drawn from the many people who have settled on this Caribbean island. It reflects French, African rhythms, Spanish elements and others who have inhabited the island of Hispaniola, youth attend parties at nightclubs called discos, and attend Bal. This term is the French word for ball, as in a formal dance, compas, short for compas direct, is a complex, ever-changing music that arose from African rhythms and European ballroom dancing, mixed with Haitis bourgeois culture. It is a music, with méringue as its basic rhythm. In Creole, it is spelled as konpa dirèk or simply konpa and it is commonly spelled as it is pronounced as kompa. Until 1937, Haiti has had no recorded music, until Jazz Guignard was recorded non-commercially, one of the most popular Haitian artists today, is Wyclef Jean. Wyclef Jean, however, left the country before his teenage years and his music is somewhat hip-hop mixed with world music. Haitian cuisine originates from several styles from the various historical ethnic groups that populated the western portion of the island of Hispaniola. Haitian cuisine is similar to the rest of the Latin-Caribbean, however it differs in ways from its regional counterparts. While the cuisine is unpretentious and simple, the flavors are bold and spicy that demonstrate a primary influence of African culinary aesthetic, paired with a very French sophistication
5.
Afro-Argentines
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At the Argentine national census of 2010 the total population was 40,117,096, of whom 149,493 identified as Afro-Argentine. The Afro-Argentine population resulting from the trade during the centuries of Spanish domination of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata had a major role in Argentine history. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries they comprised up to fifty percent of the population in some provinces, by the late 19th century the Afro-Argentine population consisted mainly of women, who mixed with the large numbers of European immigrants. Over 5% of Argentines state they have at least 1 black ancestor, today there is still a notable Afro-Argentine community in the Buenos Aires districts of San Telmo and La Boca. There are also quite a few African-descended Argentines in Merlo and Ciudad Evita cities, as part of the process of conquest, the economic regimes of the European colonies in America developed various forms of forced labor exploitation of the American aboriginals. This led the Spaniards to supplement aboriginal manpower with slaves from sub-Saharan Africa, mexico and Peru alone lost nearly 90% of their indigenous population in the first 50 years after the Conquest. Well into the 19th century, mining and agriculture accounted for the bulk of activity in America. In the case of Argentina, the influx of African slaves began in the colonies of the Rio de la Plata in 1588, slave traders kidnapped Africans, who were then sold and shipped from West Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean. Trafficking flourished through the port of Buenos Aires when the city allowed English traders to import slaves through it, to provide slaves to the East Indies, the Spanish crown granted contracts known as Asientos to various companies from other countries, mainly Portuguese, English, Dutch and French. By 1713 Britain, victorious in the War of the Spanish Succession, had the monopoly of this trade, the last Asiento was drawn up with the Royal Society of the Philippines in 1787. Until the 1784 ban, African slaves were measured and then branded, before the 16th century slaves had arrived in relatively small numbers from the Cape Verde islands. Five Africans are estimated to have perished on the voyage for each arrival, the slaves were forced to work in agriculture, livestock, domestic work and to a lesser extent crafts. In urban areas, many slaves made handicrafts for sale, while revenues went to their masters, the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Telmo and Monserrat housed a large quantity of slaves, although most were sent to the interior provinces. An important part of the African population also inhabited other provinces, today one of the slums of the city of Corrientes is still known as Camba Cuá, from the Guarani kamba kua, meaning cave of the Blacks. The area most densely populated by Africans was located in the neighborhood of Monserrat, also known as Barrio del Tambor, slaves would group themselves in societies they called nations, some of which were Conga, Cabunda, African Argentine, Mozambique, etc. The commonalities among the places of the nations included artificially flattened and sanded opened spaces for dancing. In some cases the rooms were carpeted, and curtained, having been provided these items by the slave owner, the nation had its king and queen, previously chosen by democratic election, and a throne was erected where the flag of a particular nation was displayed. The headquarters was the site of social gatherings and dances, often the Afro-Argentine societies centered around the barrios, such as the del Mondongo nation or the del Tambor society
6.
Afro-Caribbeans
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African-Caribbeans are Caribbean people who trace their ancestry to Africa in the period since Christopher Columbuss arrival in the region in 1492. Other names for the group include African-Caribbean, Afro-Antillean or Afro-West Indian, between the 16th and 19th centuries, European-led triangular trade brought African people to work as slaves in the Caribbean on various plantations. Many Afro-Caribbeans also have non-African ancestry, such as European, South Asian, East Asian, Middle Eastern and Native American, as there has been intermarriage over the centuries. L. R. James, to writer and theorists such as Aime Cesaire and Frantz Fanon, to US military leader and statesman Colin Powell whose parents were immigrants, during the post-Columbian era, the archipelagos and islands of the Caribbean were the first sites of African Diaspora dispersal in the western Atlantic. Specifically, in 1492, Pedro Alonso Niño, an African-Spanish seafarer, was recorded as piloting one of Columbuss ships and he returned in 1499, but did not settle. By the end of the 18th century, on many islands, on Saint-Domingue, free people of color and slaves rebelled against harsh conditions, and constant inter-imperial warfare. In 1804, Haiti, with its overwhelmingly African population and leadership, cuba was the last island to be emancipated when Spain abolished slavery in its colonies. During the 20th century, Afro-Caribbean people, who were a majority in many Caribbean societies, began to assert their cultural, economic, aimé Césaire developed a negritude movement. From the 1960s, the West Indian territories began to win their independence from British colonial rule and they were pre-eminent in creating new cultural forms such as reggae music, calypso and rastafarianism within the Caribbean. They also contributed to developments in Europe, as evidenced by influential theorists such as Frantz Fanon. Politics Lynden Pindling - Bahamian Politician, and first Prime minister of the Bahamas Hubert Ingraham - Bahamian, Politician, perry Christie - Bahamian, Politician and lawyer. Joseph Robert Love - Bahamian born, medical doctor and Jamaican politician and political activist who influenced Marcus Garvey John Compton - Saint Lucia, Politician and Lawyer
7.
Afro-Cuban
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The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans who mostly have West African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community. The term can refer to the combining of African and other elements found in Cuban society such as race, religion, music, language, the arts. According to a 2002 national census which surveyed 11.2 million Cubans,1.1 million Cubans described themselves as Black, thus a significant proportion of those living on the island affirm some African ancestry. A study from 2014 estimated the genetic admixture of the population of Cuba to be 72% European, 20% African, recently, many African immigrants have been coming to Cuba, especially from Angola. The percentage of Afro-Cubans on the island increased after the 1959 Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro due to migration from the island of the largely white Cuban professional class. A small percentage of Afro-Cubans left Cuba, mostly for the United States, where they and their U. S. -born children are called Cuban Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and African Americans. Only a few of them resided in nearby Spanish-speaking country of Dominican Republic, the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami says 62% are black. In Equatorial Guinea, they part of the Emancipados, in Nigeria. Despite being free to return to Cuba when their tenure was over, the former slaves were brought to Africa by the Royal Orders of September 13,1845 and a June 20,1861 deportation from Cuba, due to the lack of volunteers. Similar circumstances previously occurred during the 17th century where ex-slaves from both Cuba and Brazil were offered the same opportunity, Angola also has communities of Afro-Cubans, Amparos. They are descendants of Afro-Cuban soldiers brought to the country in 1975 as a result of the Cuban involvement in the Cold War, Fidel Castro deployed thousands of troops to the country during the Angolan Civil War. As a result of this era, there exists a small Spanish-speaking community in Angola of Afro-Cubans numbering about 100,000, Haitian Creole and culture first entered Cuba with the arrival of Haitian immigrants at the start of the 19th century. Haiti was a French colony, and the years of the 1791–1804 Haitian Revolution brought a wave of French settlers fleeing with their Haitian slaves to Cuba. They came mainly to the east, and especially Guantánamo, where the French later introduced sugar cultivation, constructed sugar refineries, by 1804, some 30,000 French were living in Baracoa and Maisí, the furthest eastern municipalities of the province. Later, Haitians continued to come to Cuba to work as braceros in the fields cutting cane and their living and working conditions were not much better than slavery. Although they planned to return to Haiti, most stayed on in Cuba, for years, many Haitians and their descendants in Cuba did not identify themselves as such or speak Creole. In the eastern part of the island, many Haitians suffered discrimination, but according to the Castro regime, since 1959, when he took over, this discrimination has stopped. After Spanish, Creole is the second language in Cuba
