1619
Jamestown, Virginia, VA · On map
In August 1619, approximately 20 Africans arrived in the Jamestown colony aboard the ship White Lion and were exchanged by the captain for food and supplies[1][7]. While some historians argue these individuals were initially indentured servants rather than slaves, their arrival marks the beginning of African presence in English colonial America and the eventual institutionalization of race-based slavery[1][4]. This event is widely cited as the starting point of slavery in the United States, though scholarly debate exists regarding their exact legal status at the time[4].
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