Human world
'The worldwide dispersal, or diaspora, of people of African descent began with the African slave trade. Europeans shipped African slaves to North, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Europe. Africans dispersed further for educational and economic reasons. African students, traders and sailors visiting Britain and especially Liverpool, strengthened Britain’s ties with Africa. These ties were based on trade in ‘legitimate’ commodities, such as palm oil, gold and timbers and lasted long after the abolition of slavery.
'People of African descent living in the Americas and Europe played a part in their own liberation from slavery, in some cases setting up free Black states, such as Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.
'The African Diaspora and their present-day descendants have enriched world culture in language, literature, music, art, religion, sport and science. A less obvious contribution has been the historic challenge that the Black presence has made in the search for social justice illustrated by the Abolition Movement of the 19th century, the Black Freedom Movement of the mid-20th century and the struggle for human rights.
Ray Costello, (Liverpool community historian)