 Igbo people prior to the American Civil War were brought to the United States by force from their hinterland homes on the Bight of Biafra and shipped by Europeans to North America between the 17th and 19th centuries.Identified Igbo slaves were often described by the ethnonyms "Ibo" and "Ebo(e)", a colonial American rendering of Igbo.Some Igbo slaves were also referred to as 'bites', denoting their Bight of Biafra origin, and other names were used in reference to their home lands in Africa.