During blatant legal slavery, Africans were considered to be cattle rather than people. For this reason, records of their births and deaths were not always kept. Birth and death records are critical for creating a family tree.
Africans, who were taken as slaves, were not allowed to keep their original names. So-called Christian missionaries believed everything that was not European was evil so they discouraged African customs and practices in general. Also, it was part of the strategy of slave drivers to suppress the culture of the Africans in order to make them feel less like people and more like farm equipment, thus making them les resistant to slavery.
Website: African American Culture
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