The Study of Racialism

Bischoff · Mentor Joined: 20 Jan 2008 {Posts: 395 }

Does anybody here have any links to a wesbite that breaks down the makeup of their ancestry percentage wise ? I have been told by other people that on average the population of Haiti and Jamaica does not have as much European admixture as other countries in the Americas, it's not surprising when you eyeball these 2 populations.

punjabtrini · Mentor Joined: 04 Sep 2007 {Posts: 253 } Location: USA

Just a guess but admixture is greater in Jamaicans than Haitians!
Chinese, Asian Indians, Lebanese admixture would be greater in the upper classes of both as opposed to European!
The top 10-15% (upper middle class) would have more European (in conjunction with non-African groups) admixture that the rest of the population

Beauty · Experienced User Joined: 02 Jun 2007 {Posts: 102 }

Bischoff,

May I ask why you singled out Jamaican and Haiti? Particulary as you are not suprised by eyeballing the population? Are you able to tell someone who either Jamaican or Hatian.

As far as I am aware the Afro Caribbean population have lower admixture than their American counterpart. I am not aware of either Jamaica or Haitians having less European admixture than their counter parts from Barbados, Trindad and many more.

I am Jamaican. I would say the admixture levels vary according to geographical location. I would assume all the Caribbean Islands such Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad have similiar level of admixture.

Punjabtrini, I may be wrong I don't think the upper classes are more likely to have admixture from the places you mentioned than the general population. Thery may be more likely to have more European admixture. However even the white population in Jamaican are likely to have to have admixture of some sort.

G-Man · Moderator Joined: 27 Nov 2004 {Posts: 2992 }

pianoplayer111 · Wizard Joined: 16 May 2007 {Posts: 429 }

Punjabtrini, I agree.

I don't necessarily agree with the statement about Jamaicans having little admixture compared to black Americans (if that is what is being implied here). Many AA's believe this to be true but would be shocked if they encountered somebody like me, who has Jamaican ancestry but looks completely European. And like it has been stated on this forum many times, the "eyeball" test doesn't indicate anything. There are many dark-skinned people in Jamaica who have Caucasian (meaning South Asian in this instance) ancestry and this is discernible by looking at their hair type or certain features they might have. They consider themselves to be black but do acknowledge their Indian ancestry...these people are called "coolies", much like the "douglas" of Trinidad.

I don't know about Haiti but Jamaica is heavily mixed. Yes, the majority is of black/African descent but not entirely. The "pure" blacks in Jamaica tend to be descended from the Maroons, who for the most part never mixed with other groups. Most Jamaicans are mixed...not necessarily with Euro blood in some cases, but with Indian (from India), Chinese, Middle Eastern, etc. I attended high school for one year in Jamaica. It was an all-girls' institution and while most of the girls there were phenotypically black with dark skin, many were not. They were either biracial or MGM, very fair with straight hair and Caucasian features.

Lisa Hanna, a former Jamaican beauty queen, is dark-skinned and appears to be South Asian. She is of partial Lebanese ancestry despite her dark skin. How do I know this? She is distantly related to me on my father's side.