[aruanan]

How many Africans brought to America as slaves-or born into slavery here - went back to Africa and the life they lived prior to slavery?

Somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 to Liberia.

Well, it wasn't back to the life they lived prior to slavery since some of them through the work of organizations dedicated to repatriation founded the colony of Liberia, capital, Monrovia, later to declare its independence in 1847 with about 3,000 settlers, who were known as Americo-Liberians. Throughout Liberian history they never amounted to more than 5% of the population. Culturally they were European-American in language, dress, architecture, education, and religion. They basically established a caste system with themselves at the top. Their control of the country lasted until 1980. As bad as it was, it's been an even greater mess ever since.

Also, some freed blacks continued to live in the South. Some became slave holders themselves, a few with rather large operations.

[Sherman Logan]

You are correct. Few if any were ever able to return to the life they lived prior to being enslaved. In many cases their families or tribes had been destroyed and their homes and lands had been taken over by others.

But the probable maximum of perhaps 10,000 is for up to the 20s, in about a century, of American blacks who returned to Africa. The “colonizers” who believed they could remove 4M+ blacks so America wouldn’t have to deal with their presence were severely delusional.

[StonyBurk]

Well done— and a very good reply.Too many Americans would deny there ever were free blacks who owned African slaves.And too many ignore those who did return to Liberia-—and look how we have stood by them ever since—NOT too well I’d say since the bloody freakin’Muslim began trying to make that African State shariah compliant.