In late August 1619, an English ship named the White Lion stopped in what is now the American state of Virginia. It left behind more than 20 captive Angolans. They were the first known Africans to step onto Britain’s American colonies. Their arrival 400 years ago began the history of slavery in English-speaking America. The practice of enslaving Africans continued for more than 200 years. From 1525 to 1866, close to 400,000 African men, women and children arrived in what is now the United States. They were sold or traded to wealthy owners of large farms. “They had to work the crops the corn fields, the tobacco fields. It was a life they had to endure knowing they would probably never be free,” says Calvin Pearson. He leads a history group called Project 1619.
