There have been a variety of ethnic groups in Baltimore, Maryland and its surrounding area for 12,000 years. Prior to European colonization, various Native American nations have lived in the Baltimore area for nearly 3 millennia, with the earliest known Native inhabitants dating to the 10th millennium BCE. Following Baltimore's foundation as a subdivision of the Province of Maryland by British colonial authorities in 1661, the city became home to numerous European settlers and immigrants and their African slaves. Since the first English settlers arrived, substantial immigration from all over Europe, the presence of a deeply rooted community of free Black people that was the largest in the pre-Civil War United States, out-migration of African Americans from the Deep South, out-migration of White Southerners from Appalachia, out-migration of Native Americans from the Southeast such as the Lumbee and the Cherokee, and new waves of more recent immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa have added layers of complexity to the workforce and culture of Baltimore, as well as the religious and ethnic fabric of the city. Baltimore's culture has been described as "the blending of Southern culture and [African American] migration, Northern industry, and the influx of European immigrants—first mixing at the port and its neighborhoods...Baltimore’s character, it’s uniqueness, the dialect, all of it, is a kind of amalgamation of these very different things coming together—with a little Appalachia thrown in...It’s all threaded through these neighborhoods", according to the American studies academic Mary Rizzo.
Early history The Baltimore area has been inhabited by Native Americans since at least the 10th millennium BC, when Paleo-Indians first settled in the region. One Paleo-Indian site and several Archaic period and Woodland period archaeological sites have been identified in Baltimore, including four from the Late Woodland period. During the Late Woodland period, the archaeological culture that is called the "Potomac Creek complex" resided in the area from Baltimore to the Rappahannock River in Virginia.
Prior to the establishment of Baltimore as a city, the Piscataway tribe of Algonquians inhabited the Baltimore area. In 1608, Captain John Smith traveled 170 miles from Jamestown to the upper Chesapeake Bay, leading the first European expedition to the Patapsco River, named after the native Algonquians who fished shellfish and hunted. and , Scott Sheads, Mylocustpoint. The name "Patapsco" is derived from pota-psk-ut, which translates to "backwater" or "tide covered with froth" in Algonquian dialect. The Chesapeake Bay was named after the Chesapeake tribe of Virginia. "Chesapeake" is derived from the Algonquian word Chesepiooc referring to a village "at a big river." It is the seventh oldest surviving English place-name in the U.S., first applied as "Chesepiook" by explorers heading north from the Roanoke Colony into a Chesapeake tributary in 1585 or 1586.Also shown as "Chisupioc" (by John Smith of Jamestown) and "Chisapeack", in Algonquian "Che" means "big" or "great", "sepi" means river, and the "oc" or "ok" ending indicated something (a village, in this case) "at" that feature. "Sepi" is also found in another placename of Algonquian origin, Mississippi. The name was soon transferred by the English from the big river at that site to the big bay.
In 2005, Algonquian linguist Blair Rudes "helped to dispel one of the area's most widely held beliefs: that 'Chesapeake' means something like 'Great Shellfish Bay.' It does not, Rudes said. The name might actually mean something like 'Great Water,' or it might have been just a village at the bay's mouth." Soon after John Smith's voyage, English colonists began to settle in Maryland. The English were initially frightened by the Piscataway because of their body paint and war regalia, even though they were a peaceful tribe. The chief of the Piscataway was quick to grant the English permission to settle within Piscataway territory and cordial relations were thereafter established between the English and the Piscataway.
Beginning in the 1620s, English settlers from the Colony of Virginia began to trade with the Algonquians, in particular the Piscataway tribe. Since the northern part of the Chesapeake Bay area had more trees, there were also more beavers. The colonists from Virginia traded English cloth and metal tools in exchange for beaver pelts. This trade was supported by Lord Baltimore, who felt that more revenue could be gained from taxation of the fur trade than from tobacco farming. Lord Baltimore also wanted to maintain friendly relations with the native Algonquians in order to create a buffer from the Susquehannock, an Iroquoian-speaking tribe to the north that was hostile to the English presence. In exchange for cooperation with the English colonists, tribes on the Eastern Shore of the United States were given grants from English proprietors that protected their lands. The tribes paid for the grants by exchanging beaver belts.
A number of English fur traders helped pay the rents for Native Americans in order to prevent tobacco farmers from driving the Native Americans off of their lands. Nonetheless, English tobacco farmers gradually acquired more and more land from Native Americans, which hindered Native Americans from moving around freely in search of food. While the English had established treaties with the Native Americans that protected their rights to "hunting, fowling, crabbing, and fishing", in practice the English did not respect the treaties and the Native Americans were eventually moved to reservations.
In 1642, the Province of Maryland declared war on several Native American groups, including the Susquehannocks. The Susquehannocks were armed with guns they had received from Swedish colonists in the settlement of New Sweden. The Swedes were friendly with the Susquehannock and wanted to maintain a trading relationship, in addition to wanting to prevent the English from expanding their presence further into Delaware. With the assistance of the Swedes, the Susquehannock defeated the English in 1644. In 1652, the Susquehannock made peace with Maryland and ceded large tracts of land to colony. The tribe had incurred a loss in a war with the Iroquois, and could not maintain two wars at once. Because both the Susquehannock and the English considered the Iroquois to be their enemy, they decided to cooperate to prevent Iroquois expansion into their territories. This alliance between the Susquehannock and the English lasted for 20 years. However, the English badly treated their Susquehannock allies. In 1674, the English forced the Susquehannock to relocate to the shores of the Potomac River.
Ethnic groups African Americans
African Americans are the majority racial and cultural group in Baltimore. The history of the African Americans in Baltimore dates back to the 17th century when the first African slaves were being brought to the Province of Maryland. Majority white for most of its history, Baltimore transitioned to having a Black majority in the 1970s.Alabaster cities: urban U.S. since 1950. John R. Short (2006). Syracuse University Press. p.142. As of the 2010 Census, African Americans are the majority population of Baltimore at 63% of the population, with a total population of 417,009 people."Baltimore, MD Ethnicity" ERsys.com. (Based on U.S. Census, 2000). Retrieved 12/05/14. As a majority Black city for the last several decades with the 5th largest population of African Americans of any city in the United States, African Americans have had an enormous impact on the culture, dialect, history, politics, and music of the city. Unlike many other Northern cities whose African American populations first became well-established during the Great Migration, Baltimore has a deeply rooted African American heritage, being home to the largest population of free Black people half a century before the Emancipation Proclamation. The migrations of Southern and Appalachian African Americans between 1910 and 1970 brought thousands of African Americans to Baltimore, transforming the city into the second northernmost majority-Black city in the United States after Detroit. The city's African American community is centered in West Baltimore and East Baltimore. The distribution of African Americans on both the West and the East sides of Baltimore is sometimes called "The Black Butterfly", while the distribution of white Americans in Central and Southeast Baltimore is called "The White L."
African immigrants
As of 2010, there were 28,834 immigrants from West, Central and Eastern Africa in Baltimore.
An annual festival called FestAfrica is held in Patterson Park in order to teach non-Africans about various African cultures and histories. The event is typically attended by 4,000 people and features a picnic, food vendors, and entertainment.
In 2011, speakers of various languages of Africa were the third largest group of language speakers in Baltimore among those who spoke English "less than very well", after speakers of Spanish or Spanish Creole and speakers of Chinese. Additionally, 6,862 African immigrants lived in Baltimore, making Africa the third largest region of origin for immigrants after Latin America and Asia.
Cape Verdeans In 2011, immigrants from Cape Verde were the one-hundredth largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.
Cameroonians In 2011, immigrants from Cameroon were the forty-fourth largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.
Eritreans There is a small Eritrean immigrant community in Baltimore. Most are refugees and have settled in the northeastern part of the city.
In 2011, immigrants from Eritrea were the fiftieth largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.
Ethiopians
Around 75,000 Ethiopian Americans reside in Maryland. Of those, between 30,000 and 50,000 live in Greater Baltimore. The population generally works as small business owners, cab drivers, beauticians and medical technicians. It is represented by the Ethiopian Community Center in Baltimore Inc. (ECCB), which provides educational and support services to the city's Ethiopian residents.
In the area where Baltimore's historic Chinatown is located, there is an increasing Ethiopian population. There are multiple Ethiopian businesses, including restaurants, a café, and a market. This enclave, located on the 300 block of Park Avenue, is sometimes referred to as Little Ethiopia.
In 2011, immigrants from Ethiopia were the twenty-third largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.
Ghanaians In 2011, immigrants from Ghana were the twenty-second largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.
Kenyans There is a Kenyan American population living in Baltimore, many of whom have relatives living in Kenya.
In 2011, immigrants from Kenya were the thirty-third largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.
Liberians There were over 2,500 Liberian Americans living in Baltimore as of 2014.
In 2011, immigrants from Liberia were the thirty-second largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.
Nigerians An annual Nigerian festival is held in Baltimore called the Naija Fest. It is sponsored by the Nigerian Youth Association of Maryland and features art, dance, music, and a feast.
In 2011, immigrants from Nigeria were the sixth largest foreign-born population in Baltimore, making Nigerians the largest foreign-born African population in the city.
The third most spoken language in Baltimore after English and Spanish is Yoruba, a language spoken in Nigeria, and 1.72 percent of Baltimore County residents speak Yoruba. Yoruba is also the second most spoken foreign language in Baltimore schools.
Sierra Leoneans In 2011, immigrants from Sierra Leone were the forty-sixth largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.
Sudanese