History of Slavery in the United States

North Carolina Tentmaker · Feb 8, 2006

Hey, this may be old news to most of you studied historians (pun intended of course) but I learned an interesting fact today about the history of slavery in the United States. I had always heard that the first African slaves in the colonies that would become the United States were brought to Virginia by a Dutch Ship in 1619. In fact those 20 or so Africans were indentured servants, legally no different from the white servants imported from England. One of those original 20, Anthony Johnson, would earn his freedom and go on to aquire large land holdings.

From the link below:

The first account of legal dispute of indenture vs. slavery is found in 1655 when the Va courts found for the holder. From evidence found in the earliest legal documents extant, it is Anthony Johnson who we now must recognize as the nation's first slaveholder. After all, the court battle he eventually won in 1655 to keep John Casor (Ceasar?) as his servant for life, identifies this unfortunate soul as the first slave in the recorded history of our country. Claiming that he had been imported as an indentured servant, Casor attempted to transfer what he argued was his remaining time of service to Robert Parker, a white, but Johnson insisted that "hee had ye Negro for his life".

The court ruled that "seriously consideringe and maturely weighing the premisses, doe fynde that the saide Mr. Robert Parker most unjustly keepeth the said Negro from Anthony Johnson his master....It is therefore the Judgement of the Court and ordered That the said John Casor Negro forthwith returne unto the service of the said master Anthony Johnson, And that mr. Robert Parker make payment of all charges in the suit."

The sadly ironic aspect of this ligation is that Anthony Johnson himself is felt likely one of those first indentured servants sold at Jamestown, having gained his freedom, bought lands, and bought hands to work it. It has then in its construct economic and class consideration, yet , it was to have far reaching racial effects.
Click to expand...

That’s right, the first documented slave owner in Virginia was in fact an African man who had been imported against his will to the colony as an indentured servant. I just thought that very ironic.

Here is a link if you want to read more:

http://www.cynthiaswope.com/withinthevines/jamestown/jtblack2.html#the%20census%20and%20nomenclature

Daisy · Apr 2, 2006

However, he was not allowed to keep his property in Viriginia, ruled the British court, because he was black. Communications were slow in those days and by the time the ruling came back from the old country, he had sold his property and moved to Maryland.

Source: PBS: from the Library of Congress (linkie)

History of Slavery in the United States

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