North American Slavery Research Paper

One of the first major contributions from Africa to North America was cattle raising. In 1731, Fulani people and longhorn cattle were imported to South Carolina where their herds increased from about 500 to 6,784 in matter of 30 years. These Fulas were expert cattlemen and they introduced African patterns of open grazing that are now practiced throughout the American cattle industry.

The Africans also introduced the first artificial insemination which is where they used cow's milk for human consumption. The name “cowboy” was introduced in 1865 and referred to Africans who dealt with cattle. Also in 1865, white people that worked with cattle referred to themselves as cattlemen to differ themselves from the Black cowboys.

Another major
African contribution is that they introduced Africanisms to cowboy language and songs. What this meant is that much of the early language associated with cowboy culture had a strong African flavor. For example, the word buckra originated from Mbakara and was used to describe a group of whites who worked as buckling and breaking horses. Another popular African word was “doggies” and it was used in many cowboy songs and this word was originated from Kimbundu.