The struggle for freedom and genomic diversity in mid-19th century Liberated Africans from St. Helena

• In Event: Enslaved Insurrection

Description for Program

One of the world’s most remote islands, St. Helena, is located ~1,250 miles off the west coast of Angola. This island is home to a rare assemblage of skeletal remains of formerly enslaved Africans. Between 1840 and 1872, during the British Royal Navy’s campaign to abolish slavery, over 26,000 indigenous Africans on seized slave ships were diverted to St. Helena where they struggled to survive and eventually were liberated by the Vice-Admiralty courts. During construction of St. Helena’s first airport, burial sites containing the skeletal remains of ~8,000 Liberated Africans were found. This discovery provides a unique opportunity to deeply understand the biological history of a forgotten population of Africans who were targets of the Transatlantic slave trade. To unravel the geographic origins, genomic diversity and morphological variation in the Liberated Africans, the petrous bones, teeth, metacarpals and metatarsals were collected from 100 individuals. DNA was extracted from the petrous bones of 92 individuals and next-generation sequencing methods were implemented. Sequencing data were integrated with publicly available genomic data from >3,000 Africans across the continent. Based on our analyses, we inferred that the Liberated Africans originated from a geographic region intermediate between West Central and South Africa. Also, an interesting population structure with prominent admixture was uncovered. Patterns of adaptive evolution were explored utilizing a haplotype-based approach. Specific complex traits such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as inflammatory bowel disease were identified in the Liberated Africans which underscores the value of ancient genomics in tracing the root causes of diseases in African Diasporic populations today. Morphological analyses of the skeletal remains revealed distinct age ranges and health status. Overall, this study provides deeper insights into the biological history of the Liberated Africans, giving a powerful roaring voice to those individuals who can no longer speak for themselves!

Author

• Gretchen Johnson, Howard University