Historical arc
The timeline
Traditions do not sit still. This timeline follows the historical conditions — states, trade, law, revolt, abolition, migration — that shaped how each tradition developed.
Before 1400
African civilisations & pre-colonial traditions
Ifá, Vodun, Kongo and Akan religious systems develop within states and societies including Ifẹ̀, Oyo, Dahomey, the Kingdom of Kongo and the Akan polities.
1441–1600
Beginnings of the transatlantic trade
Portuguese and later European trade begins the forced deportation of African peoples across the Atlantic.
1600–1800
Plantation slavery in the Americas
Millions are deported to the Caribbean, Brazil and North America. Religious systems are rebuilt under prohibition; the Code Noir (1685) mandates Catholic baptism.
1760
Tacky's Revolt & anti-Obeah law
Jamaica criminalises Obeah after the revolt, opening two centuries of colonial anti-Obeah legislation.
1791–1804
The Haitian Revolution
Enslaved people of Saint-Domingue overthrow French rule and found Haiti — the first Black republic.
1800s
Cuban cabildos & Lukumí formation
Yoruba-descended communities in Cuba organise cabildos; Santería/Lukumí and Palo take recognisable form.
1834–1888
Abolitions
Emancipation across the British Caribbean (1834), the French colonies (1848), the U.S. (1865), Cuba (1886) and Brazil (1888).
1915–1934
U.S. occupation of Haiti
Occupation produces a wave of sensational writing and Hollywood imagery that shapes global misconceptions of Vodou.
1900s
Migration & urban traditions
The Great Migration reshapes Hoodoo; Caribbean migration builds diaspora communities in New York, Miami, Paris, London and Montreal.
1959–1990s
Cuban and Haitian diasporas
Post-1959 Cuban migration globalises Lukumí; Haitian migration carries Vodou across North America and Europe.
2003–today
Recognition & contemporary diaspora
Haiti officially recognises Vodou in 2003; UNESCO inscribes Ifá in 2005; online transmission and reAfricanisation movements reshape practice.