Jamestown in James City County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
First Africans In Jamestown
Photographed By Don Morfe, August 17, 2016
1. First Africans In Jamestown Marker
Inscription.
First Africans In Jamestown. . The first documented Africans in mainland English America arrived at Point Comfort (in present-day Hampton) late in Aug. 1619. Colonial officials traded food for these “20 and odd” Africans, who had been seized from a Portuguese slave ship en route to Spanish America. Some of the Africans were transported to Jamestown shortly thereafter. By 1625 at least nine African men and women lived here. Many of the colony’s early Africans were held as slaves, but some individuals became free. A legal framework for hereditary, lifelong slavery evolved in Virginia during the 1600s. The United States abolished slavery in 1865.
The first documented Africans in mainland English America arrived at Point Comfort (in present-day Hampton) late in Aug. 1619. Colonial officials traded food for these “20 and odd” Africans, who had been seized from a Portuguese slave ship en route to Spanish America. Some of the Africans were transported to Jamestown shortly thereafter. By 1625 at least nine African men and women lived here. Many of the colony’s early Africans were held as slaves, but some individuals became free. A legal framework for hereditary, lifelong slavery evolved in Virginia during the 1600s. The United States abolished slavery in 1865.
Erected 2015 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number WT-1.)
Location. 37° 13.782′ N, 76° 46.823′ W. Marker is in Jamestown, Virginia, in James City County. Marker is on Jamestown Road (Virginia Route 31) north of Greensprings Road (Virginia Route 614), on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Williamsburg VA 23185, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 4, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 30, 2016, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 501 times since then and 25 times this year. Last updated on April 1, 2022, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 30, 2016, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
