The genetic history of the African diaspora is composed of the overall genetic history of the African diaspora, within regions outside of Africa, such as North America, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; this includes the genetic histories of African Americans, Afro-Canadians, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, Afro-Europeans, Afro-Asians, and African Australians.

Overview

Prehistoric

The Sahara served as a trans-regional passageway and place of dwelling for people in Africa during various humid phases and periods throughout the history of Africa. As early as 11,000 years ago, Sub-Saharan West Africans, bearing macrohaplogroup L (e.g., L1b1a11, L1b1a6a, L1b1a8, L1b1a9a1, L2a1k, L3d1b1a), may have migrated through North Africa and into Europe, mostly into southern Europe (e.g., Iberia).

Amid the Green Sahara in Africa, the mutation for sickle cell originated in the Sahara or in the northwest forest region of western Central Africa (e.g., Cameroon) by at least 7,300 years ago, though possibly as early as 22,000 years ago. The ancestral sickle cell haplotype to modern haplotypes (e.g., Cameroon/Central African Republic and Benin/Senegal haplotypes) may have first arose in the ancestors of modern West Africans, bearing haplogroups E1b1a1-L485 and E1b1a1-U175 or their ancestral haplogroup E1b1a1-M4732. West Africans (e.g., Yoruba and Esan of Nigeria), bearing the Benin sickle cell haplotype, may have migrated through the northeastern region of Africa into the western region of Arabia. West Africans (e.g., Mende of Sierra Leone), bearing the Senegal sickle cell haplotype, may have migrated into Mauritania (77% modern rate of occurrence) and Senegal (100%); they may also have migrated across the Sahara, into North Africa, and from North Africa, into Southern Europe, Turkey, and a region near northern Iraq and southern Turkey. Some may have migrated and introduced the Senegal and Benin sickle cell haplotypes into Basra, Iraq, where both occur equally. West Africans, bearing the Benin sickle cell haplotype, may have migrated into the northern region of Iraq (69.5%), Jordan (80%), Lebanon (73%), Oman (52.1%), and Egypt (80.8%).

During the early period of the Holocene, Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Europe, mostly in Iberia. West Africans probably migrated, across Sahelian Africa, North Africa, and the Strait of Gibraltar, into Europe, and introduced 63% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA. Between 15,000 BP and 7000 BP, 86% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Southwest Asia by East Africans, largely in the region of Arabia, which constitute 50% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA in modern Southwest Asia.

In 4000 BP, there may have been a population that traversed from Africa (e.g., West Africa or West-Central Africa), through the Strait of Gibraltar, into the Iberian Peninsula, where admixing between Africans and Iberians (e.g., of northern Portugal, of southern Spain) occurred.

Historic

An African individual, who has been dated between 1st century CE and 3rd century CE as well as carried haplogroup H1, may have forcibly (via enslavement) or voluntarily migrated from the central Sahara or the Nile Valley (e.g., Sudan) to Rome.

During the modern period, West Africans introduced more than 75% of Sub-Saharan mitochondrial DNA into North America and Southern Africans introduced almost 15%. West Africans also introduced ~45% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA into South America, whereas, Southern Africans, largely indigenous Angolans, introduced ~55%. During the modern period, West Africans introduced 75% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA into Iberia and other parts of Europe, possibly by sea voyage. During the modern period, a greater number of West Africans introduced Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA than East Africans. In the modern period, 68% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced by East Africans and 22% was introduced by West Africans, which constitutes 50% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA in modern Southwest Asia.

International Trade of Enslaved Africans

Regarding the Indian Ocean slave trade, Romuald (2017) states: "From the 8th to the 19th centuries, about four million people were captured from the shores of eastern Africa by Arab Muslim and Swahili traders. It has been suggested that slaves transported before the 16th century originated from the Horn of Africa, i.e., Nilotic or Afro-Asiatic speakers from present-day Ethiopia, whereas most Africans enslaved from the 18th century onward were Zanj, i.e., Bantu speakers of southeastern Africa." Regarding the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Fortes-Lima (2021) states:

Between the 15th and the 19th century, around twelve million Africans were forcibly displaced from their countries to be enslaved (that means around 30,000 captives a year over three and a half centuries). Enslaved Africans were taken from African slaving coasts that stretched thousands of miles, from Senegal to Angola, and even round the Cape and on to Mozambique. The largest number (around 95%) of slaves arrived in Latin America, with ~43% disembarked in South America, ~52% in the Caribbean, while the remaining 5% arrived in what has become today the United States. This forced and massive migration of people radically changed the genetic landscape of present-day populations in the Americas...According to historical resources, from 1501 to 1867 enslaved Africans were embarked from eight major historical coastal regions in sub-Saharan Africa: 5.7% of the captives were from Senegambia, 3.2% from Sierra Leone, 2.7% from Windward Coast, 9.6% from Gold Coast, 16.1% from Bight of Benin, 12.3% from the Bight of Biafra, 46.3% from West Central Africa, and 4.1% from Southeast Africa. West Central Africa region (coastal region from present-day Gabon to Angola) was always the largest regional point for captives throughout most of the TAST [Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade] period, and much of the trade there was focused in present-day Angola. As the TAST expanded after 1641, slaving regions such as Gold Coast, the Bights of Benin and Biafra, and West Central Africa became more prominent than they had been before.

International Emigration of Modern Africans

Europe

In Lisbon, Portugal, 87% of Angolans, who were sampled in 2014, carried various haplogroups of Macro-haplogroup L (e.g., L0a, L0d, L1b, L1c, L2a, L2b, L2c, L3a, L3b, L3d, L3f, L4), whereas, other sampled Angolans carried different haplogroups (e.g., H, T, R0, K, U, J, M). In Lisbon, Portugal, out of 80 Guinea-Bissauns, who were sampled in 2017, 73 carried Macro-haplogroup L, 5 carried haplogroup U, one carried haplogroup M, and one carried haplogroup V. In Lisbon, Portugal, 81% of Mozambicans, who were sampled in 2017, carried various haplogroups of Macro-haplogroup L, whereas, 19% of the sampled Mozambicans carried different haplogroups (e.g., H, U, K, J1, M4, R0, T2).

Americas

Out of 642 individuals from 15 populations among the African diaspora in the Americas sampled in 2016, some of which included individuals who self-identified as being of African descent, the ancestry of 328 African Americans were found to be 80% African, the ancestry of Afro-Jamaicans were found to be 89% African, and the ancestry of Puerto Ricans were found to be 27% African.

Due to their relative isolation from Europeans and Native Americans, Maroons retained and adapted their cultures from Africa. European colonial forces relinquished and recognized the territorial sovereignty of areas occupied by Maroons, such as Colombia, Jamaica, French Guiana, and Suriname. Alukus,Kwinti, Matawai, Ndjukas, Paramakas, and Saramakas, who are Maroons of Noir Marron, are the largest, autonomous group of Maroons in the Americas. Though Noir Marron groups and other groups among the African diaspora have been in the Americas for 400 years, the ancestry of Noir Marron individuals sampled in 2017 has shown that Maroons are 98% African, which is the highest degree of retained African ancestry among the African diaspora. Noir Marron Maroons were found to be genetically linked with Africans in the region of the Bight of Benin; in particular, there are strong genetic connections with Africans in Benin and a linguistic connection with Gbe speakers, such as the Fon people.

During the Holocene, 3% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA is indicated to have been introduced into South America and 6% is indicated to have been introduced into North America. However, Sá et al. (2022) provided the following rationale: "This could be explained by statistical residuals from the recent lineages, but also from a couple of lineages whose founders in Africa were likely not detected, or due to minor errors in the sequences leading to overestimates of the age estimate of specific lineages." During the modern period, West Africans introduced more than 75% of Sub-Saharan mitochondrial DNA into North America and Southern Africans introduced almost 15%. West Africans also introduced ~45% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA into South America, whereas, Southern Africans, largely indigenous Angolans, introduced ~55%.

North America

United States of America

Ancient DNA

At Avery's Rest in Delaware, 3 out of 11 individuals were African Americans, who were dated between 1675 CE and 1725 CE; one was of West African ancestry and carried haplogroups E1b1a-CTS2447 and L3e3b, another was of western Central African Bantu-speaking ancestry and carried E1b1a-Z5974 and L0a1a2, and another was of West African and East African ancestry and carried E1b1a-Z5974 and L3d2.

At a burial site in Delaware, enslaved African Americans, who were dated to the 17th century CE as well as had West African and Bantu ancestry from Central Africa and East Africa, carried haplogroups L3e3, L0a1a, and L3i2.