Who were the First Africans in America?
Portuguese exploration of the African coastline first brought West Africans in contact with Europeans. As Africans participated in trade with the Europeans they developed linguistic skills and came to understand European commercial practices, cultural conventions, and diplomatic etiquette. By 1491, Kongo royalty had converted to Catholicism and the King of the Kongo sent his sons to be educated in the royal court of Portugal and the Vatican in Rome. Other West African ethnic groups sent their sons to be educated in Portugal. Portuguese and West Africans, particularly people from West Central Africa, formed families in Africa and in Portugal and Luzo-Africans, a new class of people emerged from these families. As the 15th century ended, Africans and Luzo-Africans lived in Portugal and Spain. Some were slaves and some free. At least two generations of Luzo-Africans had grown to adulthood. These are the kinds of people Berlin refers to as Atlantic Creoles. From their ranks, Africans, most
