The meaning of
Mina when used in the Americas varied by time and region. There is uncertainty regarding the origin of enslaved Africans who were referred to as
Mina in the Americas on whether they were
Akan or
Ga-Adangme speakers from the and Gold Coast or Gbe-language speakers from the Slave Coast.
Brazil The term
Mina was used for several distinct groups of people in Brazil. Enslaved Africans referred to as were brought from gold-producing regions of Africa, such as
Senegambia and the Gold Coast, to develop
Brazil's gold mining industry. In the
province of , all Africans were generically referred to as . In 18th-century Rio de Janeiro, enslaved Africans were grouped into one of three categories to designate their origin: , , or . In the province of , the Mina were split into two sub-groups due to the large West African population: the (the
Ashanti) and the (Speakers of Akan and
Ga who migrated to Little Popo). Other ethnic terms including the term
Mina were also used in Brazil, such as and . Enslaved Africans referred to as Mina in Brazil were sometimes said to belong to the (Mina nation). In this context, "nation" had a broader meaning than political entities and could denote groups of people with shared heritage, culture, or language. The was named after São Jorge da Mina castle. Hall argues that
Mina in Brazil, when used to refer to an origin rather than a profession, referred to Gbe and Akan language speakers who settled around the Volta River and Little Popo.
Colombia Enslaved Africans in Colombia referred to as were brought from Africa to develop Colombia's gold-mining industry in the mid-sixteenth century. The term
Mina in Colombia comes from the Spanish and Portuguese word , which means
mine as in
gold mining. According to American historian
Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, they were likely taken from the
Bambuk or
Buré goldfields in West Africa. Most runaway Africans from the 16th to the mid-18th century were listed as
Mina. These runaways formed
palenques which violently resisted Spanish rule; Mina-run palenques fought with firearms, committed suicide to avoid recapture, and strongly resisted
conversion to Christianity. In a 1627 publication,
Jesuit missionary
Alonso de Sandoval linked the Mina in Colombia to the (people of
Grand-Popo), (people of Ouidah), and the / (people of Allada) with the Spanish phrase "" (they are all one). Modern scholars interpret this passage differently. Hall uses this passage to claim that the Mina were related to other Gbe-speakers of the Slave Coast, like the Ewe, Aja, and Fon. British Africanist
Robin Law suggests that
Mina could refer to Ga-Adangme-speakers of the Gold Coast and that a significant number of bilingual Mina could cause this group to be grouped with enslaved Africans from a different language group.
Cuba Mina appears alongside many other terms for enslaved Africans from the West African coast in a 1916 inventory compiled by Cuban anthropologist
Fernando Ortiz Fernández of classic African ethnicities in Cuba. While
Mina was generally used to refer to anyone from the Gold coast region, more specific terms such as , , , , , , , and were also used to refer to people from specific regions within coastal West Africa. The term was also used in Cuba. There were that used the term
Mina, such as the 1909 or the 1794–1812 .
Hispaniola Dominican Republic In 1678, runaways slaves from French
Saint-Domingue established the community of
San Lorenzo de los Minas, now known as Los Minas, in Spanish
Santo Domingo. The community attracted further runaways from Saint-Domingue and numbered 205 people by 1740. The residents of Los Minas were intensely resistant to
christianization and endured several attempts by the Spanish to destroy their settlement. They eventually became integrated in the local community through selling
cassava meal in the
capital of Santo Domingo and formed communities in other locations, such as the
Santa Barbara district in Santo Domingo,
Villa Duarte, and potentially Mendoza in
Santo Domingo Este.
Haiti In the latter half of the eighteenth century,
Mina was distinct from other terms to refer to Gbe speakers such as and , Adja for the
Aja people, or for those from the
Kingdom of Whydah. Mina coexisted with
Coromanti, an English term which like
Mina referred to enslaved Africans from the Gold Coast region.
United States Louisiana The Mina were a prominent group of enslaved Africans in the
state of
Louisiana. The term
Mina in Louisiana is argued by American historian
Gwendolyn Hall to have been used to differentiate Western Gbe speakers such as the Ewe,
Ouatchi, Adja, Gen, and Hula from other groups such as the Fon.
Uruguay Mina slaves were documented in
Uruguay during the late 18th century and early 19th century. These slaves likely arrived in Uruguay after first transiting through Brazil, whether by land or through a large Brazilian slave port such as
Salvador. An 1812 census documents 297 Mina slaves residing in
Montevideo.
Venezuela The 18th century
Ocoyta palenque was led by the Mina Guillermo Ribas. == Variants ==