In 1640, John Punch, a Black-American indentured servant, received a sentence of lifelong slavery for running away to Maryland with two white indentured servants. Unlike Punch, the two white servants were given only an additional four years of servitude as punishment. Punch’s case served as the starting point for the establishment of race-based slavery through legal means in British North America.
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On August 20, 1619, around 20 Africans are believed to have arrived in the Jamestown settlement in Virginia, specifically at Old Point Comfort, now recognized as Fort Monroe. While the precise names of these individuals and the exact count of those who remained at Point Comfort have been lost to history, much is known about their harrowing journey.
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Originally captured by Portuguese colonial forces, these individuals were members of the native Kongo and Ndongo kingdoms. They were forcibly marched to the port of Luanda, situated in present-day Angola. Subsequently, they were loaded onto the ship San Juan Bautista, which embarked on a voyage bound for Veracruz in the New Spain colony.
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Unfortunately, like many similar voyages, approximately 150 of the 350 captives aboard the ship perished during the treacherous crossing. As the ship neared its destination, it encountered an attack by two privateer vessels, the White Lion and the Treasurer.
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Crew members from these ships abducted around 60 of the Bautista's enslaved individuals. It was the White Lion that arrived at Point Comfort in the Virginia Colony, where on August 20, 1619, they traded some of the prisoners in exchange for provisions.
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While the historical record does not provide definitive evidence, the consensus among historians is that the majority of the earliest Africans in VA were enslaved. This assertion is particularly evident in the case of the Spanish ship, San Juan Bautista, where the Africans were unquestionably held in enslavement. Upon their arrival in VA, these people were treated as commodities & subjected to the dynamics of the slave trade.
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Unlike English servants who commonly received regular indenture contracts, there are no historical records indicating that the Africans were granted such arrangements. While it is possible that a small number of Africans may have been treated similarly to white indentured servants, the available records do not support the notion that this was the experience for the majority of Africans, who were enslaved right from the beginning.
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It is probable that africans were classified as "slaves" rather than indentured servants. The distinction meant indentured servants were obligated to work in tobacco fields for a designated duration, usually spanning four to seven years, after which they would attain their freedom. During that era, indentured servitude was a prevalent practice.
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Indentured servitude served as the means through which numerous individuals of European descent journeyed from Europe to the colonies. This does not imply a perfect racial harmony, but rather that Black and White indentured servants frequently toiled alongside each other.
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The shift from indentured servitude to racial slavery was not an immediate occurrence. During the early stages of Virginia's history, there were no laws pertaining to slavery. However, by 1640, the Virginia courts had already issued a sentence that resulted in at least one black servant being enslaved. This marked a significant development in the progression towards the establishment of racial slavery.
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@Deglassco It also foreshadowed the loophole in the 13th Amendment. I spoke Dr. Thad Johnson about racial disparities in policing and we discussed the perverse incentive to incarcerate people for slave labor.
Dr. Thaddeus Johnson, former police officer, Senior Fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, and Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Dr. D. Elisabeth Glassco
Jackie Gardina