INTRODUCTION

Presenting a commemorative note celebrating achievements made in the past four hundred years (1619 to 2019). This note serves as a testament to the many accomplishments made by those taken from the African Diaspora and distributed throughout the world. In the face of various trials and tribulations many of these individuals persevered, contributing substantially to society as we know it. As this year represents 400 years, from the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade to the present year, let us remember, honour, and preserve the countless life journeys of those who made innumerable sacrifices, endured immense hardships, and thus serve as a testament to the unwavering strength of our human spirit, and subsequently an inspiration for us all.

HISTORY

 Prior to the slave trade, for hundreds of thousands of years, Black people cultivated vast metropolises making them among some of the greatest civilizations throughout the world. There was Egypt, the predominant civilization of the ancient world. There was Mansa Musa, the tenth emperor of a wealthy West African Mali Empire and the richest man in history (c.1280 – c.1337). There was the city of Timbuktu in Mali, which had the most universities in any nation, one of which was The University of Timbuktu (12th century). There was King Ramesses II, who was best known for his military leadership and for building numerous impressive monuments (reigned 1279 – 1213). And there was Queen Anna Nzinga of Angola (c.1581 – c.1663) who was known for being an astute diplomat and visionary military leader; one who resisted Portuguese invasion and slave raids for 30 years. It is also of great importance to recognize the large number of Indigenous people (Native Americans) whom because of the dark hue of their skin, their facial features, and their distinct hair textures, were strategically identified as “Africans” even though such communities had been residing in the West long before the commencement of the Transatlantic slave trade. These examples and endless more establish the fact that the history of Black people delves much deeper than the past 400 years.

As briefly touched upon, from the 16th century until the end of the 19th century a trade was established involving African captives. Subsequently, slave trade merchants brought the vast majority of enslaved Africans to the Caribbean and Brazil. Out of the unknown large number of enslaved Africans to eventually reach the Western Hemisphere, roughly hundreds of thousands came to North America. This was overshadowed by the vast number of enslaved Africans brought to Spanish Central America, the large number brought to British, French, Dutch, and Danish settlements in the Caribbean, and the substantial amount brought to Brazil.

During the opening century of the transatlantic slave trade, Portugal and Spain dominated, sending hundreds of thousands of enslaved people to their settlements in Central and South America and the Caribbean. The Portuguese role increased throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, equating to hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans transported to the Americas. The actual amount of the slaves referenced here and throughout our history is still undetermined today.

However in the 1700s Spanish transport decreased exceeded by the British, French, Dutch, and (by the end of the century) American activity. In fact for a time during this period, British transport exceeded that of Portugal. This hundred years from approximately 1725 to 1825, coined the high-water mark of the slave trade, saw slave traders place a large undetermined number of enslaved Africans in conditions of forced labour, severe methods of torture, disease, and death in the New World.

In the final decades of the Atlantic slave trade, Portugal reclaimed its status as the leading slave trader, sending an undetermined number of people to the Western Hemisphere; predominantly Brazil. Spain also returned as a leading nation in the slave trade, sending an undetermined number of enslaved Africans to the West. At this point other involved nations had, by contrast, largely ended their roles in the trade.

And yet during this time, of what must have seemed perilous in the hearts of many, enslaved Africans throughout the Diaspora sought to free themselves from bondage. One such form of quest for liberation led to the birth of the Underground Railroad. A term used to describe a network of meeting places, secret routes, passageways and safe houses used, between 1840 and 1860, by enslaved Africans to escape enslavement by journeying to the northern states and Canada. Established in the early 1800s, and aided by people involved in the Abolitionist Movement, the Underground Railroad helped an estimated an undetermined number of enslaved individuals escape from bondage in the South. Aiding them on their journey, along with following the North Star, was a system of safe houses and abolitionists determined to free as many slaves as possible, even though at the time such actions violated state laws and if captured would result in dire consequences for all parties involved.

Now in light of this information, let’s stop and contemplate for a moment. Imagine walking in the dead of night, for approximately two months, fully exposed to the elements. Going from meeting place to meeting place; hiding out in barns, under church floors, caves, hollowed-out riverbanks. Knowing all along that one’s life could suddenly be cut short, in the blink of an eye, if discovered. Imagine the insurmountable amount of distress, mentally and physically, that such individuals would have had to endure. Envision the amount of strength and fortitude that would have been required to successfully complete such an undertaking. It is this example, and countless others, that fuel the inspiration behind the commemorative note.

According to records, by the end of the transatlantic slave trade it is approximated that more than 12.5 million Africans had been enslaved and displaced, of which at least 3 million are estimated to have not survived the journey. As part of the commemorative piece we seek to give remembrance to the millions of Africans who lost their lives during this dark time in history. Furthermore we also seek to honor the network of abolitionists, in addition to all those noble yet anonymous individuals, who also risked their lives helping to secure the freedom of so many of those who were enslaved. With this commemorative note we pay homage to their sacrifice. As previously stated, the actual amount of Africans taken from their continent is still largely undetermined to this day.

PRODUCT

The commemorative note is Aurum based. The Aurum is the smallest definitive unit of gold available on the current world market. The notes are comprised of a layer of 24K gold placed between layers of proprietary polymer substrate, resulting in a gold note that is enduring, secure, and allows for an exact quantity of gold to be packaged. The value of the note is further amplified with attractive works of art and 21st century security features. Not only does the thin sheet of gold in an Aurum make it easier to authenticate than gold within a coin or a bar; the gold in an Aurum is also easy to recover using standard appraisal methods.

In addition to the commemorative note we introduce, as a bonus, a commemorative Zilliqa crypto token 4TKN. This token was created in 2020 to commemorate 400 years of transition and could be viewed as a Cultural Currency. 4TKN is designed and used solely on the Zilliqa platform.

Why Zilliqa

Zilliqa is a public blockchain that is designed to offer high throughput with the ability to complete thousands of transactions per second, and the first platform to rely entirely on a sharded network. Zilliqa can split the network into several classes by introducing network sharding. Each group is capable of the parallel processing of transactions. As the network expands, the sharded network architecture helps the platform’s throughput to increase almost linearly.

A functional Byzantine Fault Tolerance, or pBFT, consensus protocol, secures the Zilliqa network, which means that at least two-thirds of all nodes must agree that a record is correct, in order for it to be added to the blockchain. To validate a subsection of all the transactions, each Zilliqa blockchain shard relies on a group of nodes, and once each shard has reached a consensus, a second group of nodes confirms the combined results of the shards and adds a new block to the blockchain.

Zilliqa also uses a proof-of-work algorithm to assign node identities and create shards, in addition to the pBFT consensus protocol that protects its transaction records. A new language, Scilla, was developed by Zilliqa for its smart contracts. Scilla is a safety-focused language short for Smart Contract Intermediate-Level Language, intended to automatically recognize and eradicate language-level security vulnerabilities and make it easier to formally verify the safety of smart contracts through mathematical proof.

As the technical standard used for smart contracts on the Zilliqa blockchain for implementing tokens, the majority of tokens issued on the Zilliqa blockchain are Zilliqa compliant. As such they follow a list of standards allowing them to be shared, exchanged for other tokens, used to purchase other Zilliqa based tokens, and transferred to a crypto-wallet via MetaMask.

Using its separated networks, without a trusted coordinator, Zilliqa is able to process transactions in a decentralized way. As it continues to evolve and develop, the network architecture enables the platform to remain decentralized.

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BRINGING THE TWO TOGETHER

Two exceptional products logically equates to more value for all. Because for every commemorative note acquired, a number of 4TKN tokens will be received. This provides celebrators with the opportunity to possess stunningly beautiful 24K gold commemorative notes, along with the freedom to use crypto tokens via smart contracts on the Zilliqa blockchain. In total there are 9,000,000.00 tokens minted. More information coming soon in our roadmap.

CLOSING STATEMENT

Our ancestors sacrificed much for us to be here today. And this is why we must celebrate them, commemorating their multifaceted lives and experiences. Through them we as humanity have come a long way. And although we have a ways to go, let us all be reminded of where we’ve come from so that we may have a clear vision of where we are going. As we come to a close, we leave you with but a snapshot of the many achievements accomplished by Black inventors around the globe. These individuals overcame adversity, poverty, and in many instances enslavement in order to share their genius with the world. Through their triumphs they enrich our global history, proving that history itself does not occur in just one month out of an entire year; but instead every day, every minute, every precious second. They remind us that no matter the circumstance, no matter the twists and turns on this journey we call life; we all have the innate potential to live out our life’s true purpose and thrive.

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