Rice, African agency, and the ecological transformation of the Americas

Abstract

The publication in 2001 of “Black rice: The African origins of rice cultivation in the Americas” ignited a spirited debate among U.S. scholars with its thesis that enslaved Africans contributed more than mere labor to the agricultural history of the New World. “Black rice” credits enslaved rice growers from West Africa with initiating the crop’s cultivation in the Americas, where they applied longstanding expertise with the African species of rice to establish a preferred dietary staple. This article summarizes the academic debate that ensued from the publication of “Black rice”, and explores its theoretical and methodological influences in subsequent studies of African knowledge and agency in transfers and transformations of plants, landscapes, agricultures, and foodways in the Americas. The article culminates with an update of the “Black rice” thesis surveying research findings accumulated over the past two decades.

Keywords
African rice; Colonial agriculture; Environmental history; Slavery; Botany