The African colonial migration into Mexico: history and biological consequences

Abstract

Introduction This study focuses on the magnitude of the contribution of the African component to the biological diversity of Mexican populations. We analyzed patterns of African migration arising from the slave trade during the colonial expansion, the ethnic composition of colonial populations, and their mating patterns, complemented by bioanthropological evidence of African presence in current Mexican populations (mainly genetic and morphological data). There are some facts that need to be considered when working on the African contribution to American populations, in general, and those of African-Mexican descent, particularly: (1) African migrations into Mexico, unlike other human group movements, were not voluntary; (2) slave introduction varied across regions and times; (3) neither places of origin nor ethnic affiliations of slaves were a constant during the colonial time; (4) transatlantic shipping of slaves diminished when Mestizo and indigenous populations increased numerically, and it stopped – at least legally – when the British Crown outlawed the slave trade by the mid nineteenth century.