This Thanksgiving, there are a number of dishes that will grace Black tables that have their origins in slavery. Though many of the foods came from Africa, they were altered or adapted by enslaved Africans to fit the ingredients available to them in the New World. Much of the research for these dishes was compiled by slaverebellion.org.
Blackeyed Peas
Blackeyed peas were first brought to the New World during the transatlantic slave trade as food for slaves. They first arrived in Jamaica around 1675, spreading throughout the West Indies, and finally reaching Florida by 1700, North Carolina in 1738 and into Virginia by 1775. By the time of the American Revolution, blackeyed peas were firmly established in America and became one of the most popular food crops in the southern part of the United States.
