One of the most important developments in Atlantic history has been the incorporation of Africa into narratives of slave life and culture. Once considered a vague background or a prologue, Africa is now recognized as fundamental to understanding crucial features of American slavery. Once seen as alienated, isolated, atomized members of a crowd, enslaved Africans are now understood to have come in groups, occasionally with family members. Previously noted for its patterns of randomization, the Middle Passage is now portrayed as clustering people who shared common languages and cultures. The process of enslavement, it used to be emphasized, stripped slaves of culture, initiative, even personality; now, slaves are often characterized as drawing on African resources that remained intact to a significant degree.1¹

中文翻译：

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18 世纪圣基茨糖业种植园的非洲文化和克里奥尔化*

大西洋历史上最重要的发展之一是将非洲纳入奴隶生活和文化的叙述中。曾经被认为是一个模糊的背景或序幕，非洲现在被认为是理解美国奴隶制关键特征的基础。曾经被视为人群中疏远、孤立、原子化的成员，现在被认为是成群结队的非洲人，偶尔与家人一起。以前以其随机化模式而闻名，中间通道现在被描绘成一群共享共同语言和文化的人。奴役的过程，过去被强调，剥夺了奴隶的文化、主动性，甚至人格；现在，奴隶通常被描述为利用在很大程度上保持完好的非洲资源。^{1 1}