African-French and African-Portuguese
In France, the idea of slave names originates in Haiti in the West Indies, an important center of the French and Europeans slave trade.
In the 15th century, the Cape Verde islands and the rivers of Guinea were among the first parts of Africa to be explored by the Portuguese. In 1446, Portugal claimed Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau), but few trading posts were established before 1600. By 1630, the Portuguese were settled and governing the territory. By then Cacheu had become one of the main centers of the (slave trade), which declined in the 19th century.
In 1600, Portugal and other European powers, including France, England, Sweden, Scotland, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia, Denmark and the Netherlands set up a thriving slave trade along the West African coast.
In 1659, Saint-Louis secured the whole of Senegal as French territory until the end of the 19th century. Dakar was built as the administrative trade center when the whole of Senegal was a French territory.
In 1765, Bissau was founded as a military center and slave-trading post. It grew to become the main commercial center. The Portuguese used slave labour to grow cotton and indigo in the previously uninhabited Cape Verde islands. They traded goods and slaves, in the Geba River estuary and slaves captured in local African wars and raids were sold in Europe and then, from the 16th century onwards, in the Americas.
Captured slaves were all given a slave name and in Europe many of their ancestors still bear this name. The name Gomis is associated with slavery in the history of Guinea-Bissau and its Manjack people). Bissau, a creole region, became the Slave Coast as the result of the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century. Before that, slavery was not a significant feature of the coastal economy. The change occurs after the Portuguese reached this region in 1446. The surnames Gomis, Mendy, Preira, Correa, Dacosta, Monteiro and Vieira can all be traced back to Portuguese through the slave trade in the Casamance River region, governed at times by both Portugal and France.
For a brief period in the 1790s the British attempted to establish a rival foothold on the offshore island of Bolama. But many of the Manjaco and other entities became French after the abolition of the Slave trade in 1794 and 1848. It was not until 1 January 1860 that the Netherlands abolished slavery. Slaves in Dutch Guiana would have to wait until 1 January 1863 for the abolition of slavery.
Freedom was restored and their slave name won back dignity and respect. Today, slave name, baptised from birth or rebirth in the new world, testifies to the authenticity of one's identity and own heritage of history, or lack thereof.
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