Indentured Servants Brought to Old Point Comfort, Virginia
In 1619, the first nineteen Africans arrived at Point Comfort, Virginia, in British America. Initially, these Africans were classified as indentured servants under the colonial legal framework. According to the prevailing laws, their servitude was bound by a set period, after which they were to be granted their freedom and the status of British subjects. This legal status extended to their children, who were born with the rights and privileges of Englishmen. This early system of indentured servitude, which was initially designed to integrate Africans into the legal and social structure of the colony, would later evolve into more restrictive and permanent forms of servitude and slavery, marking a significant shift in the treatment and status of Africans in the American colonies.
Portuguese Slave Ship Attacked
A Portuguese slave ship sailing from Angola to Veracruz, Mexico was attacked by a Dutch man-of-war and an English ship out of Jamestown. The two attacking ships captured about 50 enslaved persons—men, women, and children—and brought them to outposts of Jamestown, where more than 20 of the African captives were purchased.
Yeardley and Piersey Buy Slaves
Governor George Yeardley, with his head of trade Abraham Piersey, bought 20 odd Negroes at Point Comfort, Virginia.