The Aboriginal Races of North America by Drake, Samuel Gardner, 1798-1875; Williams, H. L

Engraving of Samuel Gardner Drake. Stephen Alonzo Schoff – Memoir of Samuel G. Drake by John Hannibal Sheppard

 

Drake was educated in the common schools, and from 1818 to 1825 taught in a district school. He was fond of literary pursuits, and in 1828 he went to Boston, where he established an antiquarian bookstore — the first of its kind in the United States — and devoted himself to the study of early United States history. He continued to do business as a bookseller and publisher during his life, and the most noted writers of his day availed themselves of the store of information that he had collected.[5]

CHAPTER II. ORIGINS OF THE INDIANS BOOK I.

“For the inhabitants of the same latitude in Asia are of a different complexion, as are the inhabitants of Cambodia and Java; in so much that some coercive the negro is properly a native of Africa; and that those places in Asia, inhabited now by Moors are but the intrusions of negroes, arriving first from Africa, as we generally conceive of Madagascar, and the adjoining islands, who retain the same complexion unto this day. But this defect [of latitude upon complexion] is more remarkable in America, which, although subjected unto both the tropics, yet are not the inhabitants black between, or near, or under either: neither to the southward in Brazil, Chili, or Peru; nor yet to the northward in Hispaniola, Castilla, del Oro, or Nicaragua. And although in many parts, therefore, there be at present, swarms of negroes, serving under the Spaniard, yet where they all transported from Africa, since the discovery of Columbus and are not indigenous, or proper natives of America. ” (Page 28)

 

Source: The aboriginal races of North America : comprising biographical sketches of eminent tribes, from the first discovery of the continent to the present period; with a dissertation on their origin, antiquities, manners and customs by Drake, Samuel Gardner, 1798-1875; Williams, H. L

An Inquiry into the distinctive characteristics of the Aboriginal Race of America By Samuel George Morton, M. D.,

“A portion of the Moorish population of Africa is very mixed race of Arabs, Berbers, Negroes, &c  (Page. 6)”

“The observations of Molina and Humboldt are sometimes quoted in disproof of this pervading uniformity of physical characters. Molina says that the difference between an inhabitant of Chili and Peruvian is not less than between an Italian and German; to which Humboldt adds, that the American race contains nations whose features differ as essentially from one another as those of the Circassians, Moors and Persians. But all these people are of one and the same race, and readily recognized as such, not withstanding their differences of feature and complexion;* and the American nations present precisely parallel case.” (Page. 6)

“No stronger example need be adduced than that which presents itself in the great Arabian family; for the Saracens who established their kingdom in Spain, whose history is replete with romance and refinement, whose colleges were the centres of genius and learning for several centuries, and whose arts and sciences have been blended with those of every subsequent age;—these very Saracens belong not only to the same race but to the same family with the Bedouins of the desert; those intractable barbarians who scorn all restraints which are not imposed by their own chief, and whose immemorial laws forbid them to sow corn, to plant fruit-trees, or to build houses, in order that nothing may conflict with those roving and predatory habits which have continued unaltered through period of three thousand years.” (Page. 15)

“The Egyptian form differs from the Pelasgic in having narrower and more receding forehead, while the face being more prominent, the facial angle is consequently less. The nose is straight or aquiline, the face angular, the features often sharp, and the hair uniformly long, soft, and curling. In this series of crania include many of which the conformation is not appreciably different from that of the Arab and Hindoo; but have not, as rule, attempted to note these distinctions, although they are so marked as to have induced me, in the early stage of the investigation, and for reasons which will appear in the sequel, to group them, together with the proper Egyptian form, under the provisional name of Austral Egyptian crania.” (Page. 46)

NEGRO RACE

“The true Negro conformation requires no comment; but it is necessary to observe that practised eye readily detects few heads with decidedly mixed characters, in which those of the Negro predominate. For these propose the name of Negroid crania for while the osteological development is more or less that of the Negro, the hair is long but sometimes harsh, thus indicating that combination of features which is familiar in the mulatto grades of the present day. It is proper, however, to remark in relation to the whole ‘series of crania, that while the greater part is readily referable to some one of the above subdivisions, there remain few other examples in which the Caucasian traits predominate, but are partially blended with those of the Negro, which last modify both the structure and expression of the head and face.” (Page.46)

Source: An Inquiry into the distinctive characteristics of the Aboriginal Race of America 

Muslims in America: Examining the Facts by Dr. Craig Considine

“The Facts: Unbeknownst to many Americans today, the United States has never existed without the presence of Muslims. Several studies elaborate on how the history of Muslims in America was immeasurably augmented by the transatlantic slave trade. As many as 15 million West Africans were enslaved by Europeans beginning in the 16th century (Diouf, 1998). Among those West Africans, approximately 10 to 20 percent were Muslim (Austin, 1997). Other scholars have suggested that upward of 30 percent of all enslaved Africans were Muslims (Ahmed, 2003).”

“The Muslims who were enslaved and brought to the Americas are thought to have been mostly well learned and literate. Consistent with the basic teachings of Islam, education was paramount to the West African civilizations. Timbuktu, in modern-day Mali, was one of the great centers of learning in the world, with libraries having up to 700 volumes and numerous schools ( well over 150 during the 16th century) ( Dirks, 2006).”

“Most of the Muslim slaves from West Africa were literate in at least Arabic, and it has been estimated that the percentage of literacy in Arabic among African slaves was actually higher than the percentage of literacy in English among their Christian owners (Dirks, 2006).”

“Al Haj Omar Ibn Said, a notable American Muslim slave with family roots in West Africa, is said to have been born and educated in the modern country of Senegal, where he served as an Islamic scholar of the Fula people. He is known for 14 documents that he wrote in Arabic, including an autobiography that detailed his life as a trader, soldier, and faithful Muslim. Said wrote that he performed the hajj, an Arabic word referring to the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, required by all Muslims (Considine, 2017: 185 ), and studied the Qur’an for 25 years before being sold into slavery in 1807 (The Pluralism Project, n.d. ).”

“Said’s handwritten works are now part of the North Carolina Collection in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Today, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the Omar Ibn Said mosque on Southern Avenue stands as a testament to his legacy. A nearby historical marker notes that Said was a slave, scholar, and African-born author who penned in autobiography in Arabic. Other details of his life on the marker show that he lived in Blady County and worshipped with local Presbyterians. Muslims from the territories of North Africa and the Ottoman Empire are considered to be the second group of Muslims to arrive on U.S. soil.”

“One European Christian, the English sea captain and privateer Sir Francis Drake, commanded 25 to 30 English ships, whose shipmen liberated approximately 500 prisoners at Saint Augustine in Florida between 1585 and 1586. Dirks ( 2006) notes that about 300 or more of these liberated slaves were North African and Turkish galley slaves. North African and Ottoman captives from the Mediterranean region, usually called Moors and Turks, respectively, were needed to perform menial duties for their Spanish overlords in places such a5 Saint Augustine. Further evidence of Muslim galley slaves in the Americas is documented by the Smithsonian, which estimated that many of the Colombian city of Cartagena’s slave population were Muslims.”

In 1586, Drake besieged and captured the town, instructing his men to treat Frenchmen, Turks, and black Africans with respect (Lawler, 201 7). Edward D. Neill, an historian of early American history, wrote in his book The Virginia Carolorum that several shipments of Turkish and Armenian indentured servants, both men and women, were present in the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in the early 17th century, meaning that the slaves Drake captured were likely of Turkish and Armenian descent (Neill, 1886).”

“These hypotheses are confirmed in recordings by The Virginia Carolorum, which note that several of the Turks in Jam es town included the names “Mehmet the Turk,” “Ahmad the Turk,” “Joseph the Armenian,” and “Sayyan Turk” (Neill, 1886). A 1652 colonial document also refers to a “Turk” in Virginia, who wrote in the Turkish language. In the same year, Governor William Boyd of Virginia referred to a Turkish merchant in a letter (Dirks, 2006).”

“An obscure group known as the Melungeons also had a presence in precolonial and colonial America. Of mixed racial background, the Melungeons settled in the Appalachian region as early as the 17th century (Dirks, 2006). According to Wayne Winkler (2004), the Melungeons are a hybrid group with African, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean ancestry.”

“A DNA study published in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy in 2012 found that Melungeon families are the offspring of sub-Saharan African men and white women of northern or central European origin. Further details about the ancestry of the Melungeons are provided by Kathy Lyday, a researcher based at Elon University. Lyday claims that a Spanish influence is likely, given that the Southwest and the mountains were explored and settled by Spaniards as far back as Hernando de Soto, a conquistador who marched through the region in 1540 (Neal, 2015 ). These Spaniards likely brought African Muslim slaves with them, and they probably intermarried with Natives.”

Source: Muslims in America: Examining the Facts

Handbook of North American Indians

I tried to authenticate the above citation floating on Facebook, but I could not. What i did find was that page 290 refers to the Delaware Nanticoke Indians who at one point identified as Moors, but there is no general statement that states” That among the reputed ancestors of the Aboriginal American Indian population (Natives) are Moors and Turks. The citation above also fails to identify which Handbook of North American Indians the citation is alleged to have been taken from, as there are several Handbooks discussing different regions of America.

“Although the native people initially showed a desire to deal peacefully with the intruders, contact inevitably led to conflict. …  the Spaniards’ view of the Indians was strongly influenced by previous experiences with the Moors of Spain and the Aztecs and warlike Chichimecs of central and northern Mexico.”

Source: Handbook of North American Indians: Southwest

“The pahkome were divided into two groups—the Moors and the Christians; and the fiestas were organized into two distinct, but duplicate and articulating, parts, associated with the colors red (Moors) and blue (Christians).” 

Source: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 10

 

 

“As America sought to assimilate American Indians, intermarriages became more acceptable and frequent. … and Creoles, Dominickers, Irish Creek, Issues, Lumbees (Croatans), Moors, and Red Bones (Price 1953; Gilbert 1946; Berry 1963).”

Source: Handbook of North American Indians: Indians in contemporary society

 

 

The American Nations of North and South America, Vol. 1

“In proceeding from the known to the unknown: we ascertain that a multitude of nations has come to America since 1492, as colonist or visitors. The principal was 1. Spanish: who have colonized or conquered from New Mexico to Chilli, and from Florida to Buenos Ayres. But they came not alone, and have brought along with them as auxiliaries. 1. Italians, 2. Flemish, 3. Biscayans, 4. Canarians, &,c., while as slaves 5. Moors of Mauritania, and G. Many African–negro nations. 2. Portuguese: who have colonized the whole of Brazil, and brought there besides many Negro nations, some Moors, Gypsies, Chinese, &c.”

 

 

“Thus it is a positive fact that many ancient nations of the east, such as the Lybians, Moors, Etruscans, Phoenicians, Hindus, *c. had heard of America, or knew nearly as much of it as we did of Australia and Polynesia 100 years ago.” “Nearly all the ancient sciences and useful primitive arts were known in America, as well as commerce and navigation, symbolic and alphabetic writing, nearly all the Asiatic religions, &c. The most civilized nations had even colleges and universities, canals and paved roads, splendid temples, and monuments, *c.”

 

 

“American anthropology will teach that there were men of all sizes, feature, and complexions, in this hemisphere before 1492?: notwithstanding the false assertions of many writers, who take one nation for the whole American group.” “The Uskihs, the Purunays, the Parias, the Chons, &c. were as white as the Spaniards, 50 such tribes were found in South America; while many tribes of Choco, the Manabis, the Yaruras, &c., were as black as negroes.”

“All the other shades of brown, tawny and coppery, were scattered everywhere. There was not a single red man in America unless painted such. Some tribes had scanty beards as the Tartars, Chinese, Berbers, &c., others bushy beards. The Tinguis or Patagons were 7 or 8 feet high and the Guaymas only 4 or 5 feet.”

Source: The American Nations: or Outlines of a National History of the Ancient and Modern Nations of North and South America