African / Black World

We demonstrate in this book that there is not a place in the world where humans exist that Africans/Blacks have not inhabited or visited. The concept Africans/Blacks as used here refers to people whose origins can be traced to the African continent. They can therefore reside in the continent or in the Diaspora. For each country profile, we present the estimated total population, the estimated African/Black population, and a brief history of the arrival of the first Africans/Blacks to the area. This is followed by references. From the beginning of time, the term "Black people" was used as a way to categorize systems of racial classification about humans perceived to be dark skinned. Different societies often employed different criteria in terms of how they classify people as "Black," and often social variables such as class and socioeconomic status would also play a significant role in the classification. Being "Black" is often associated with the very dark skin colors.