Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: The Mortality Cost of Colonizing Liberia in the Nineteenth Century FROM THE PUBLISHER
In the early nineteenth century, thousands of emancipated and freeborn African Americans returned to Africa to colonize the area now known as Liberia. In this, the first systematic study of the demographic impact of this move on the migrants, Antonio McDaniel finds that the health of migrant populations depends on the adaptability of the individuals in the group, not on their race. McDaniel compares the mortality rates of the immigrants to those of other migrants to tropical areas. He finds that the interaction of biology and environment is more important for survival in tropical environments than the presumed innate immunological superiority of Africans. Moreover, he shows that though the Liberian immigrants' mortality levels were exceptionally high, their mortality patterns were consistent with those of other populations. McDaniel concludes that the greater the variance between the environment left and the environment entered, the higher the probability of contracting a new disease, and, in some cases, of death from these diseases. Additionally, a migrant's health can be affected by dietary changes, differences in local pathogens, inappropriate immunities, and increased risk of accidents due to unfamiliar surroundings. This book is a pioneering work of demography and an engrossing social-historical narrative. It will appeal to scholars in history, sociology, African studies, and African American studies.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Sociologist McDaniel presents a systematic study of the demographic impact on freeborn and freed slaves from the US migrating to what is now Liberia in western Africa during the early 19th century. He finds that the mortality of the colonists was very high, but followed the pattern of other people migrating to tropical areas and does not support the contemporary idea that people of African descent had better immunity to disease. The adaptability of the individual seems to have been the primary factor in whether someone caught a native disease and whether they died from it. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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