The most noted of these books are, "Working with the Hands," "The Story
of the Negro," in two volumes, "My Larger Education," and "The Man
Farthest Down," which is a record of a journey of observation and study
of the working and peasant peoples of Europe.
[Illustration: Booker T. Washington]
The Story of Slavery
I
It was one hot summer's day in the month of August 1619, as the story
goes, that a Dutch man-of-war entered the mouth of the James River, in
what is now the State of Virginia, and, coming in with the tide, dropped
anchor opposite the little settlement of Jamestown. Ships were rare
enough to be remembered in that day, even when there was nothing
especially remarkable about them, as there was about this one. But this
particular ship was so interesting at the time, and so important because
of what followed in the wake of its coming, that it has not been
forgotten to this day. The reason for this is that it brought the first
slaves to the first English settlement in the New World. It is with the
coming of these first African slaves to Jamestown that the story of
slavery, so far as our own country is concerned, begins.
Although the coming of the first slave ship to what is now the United
States is still remembered, the name of the ship and almost everything
else concerning the vessel and its strange merchandise has been
forgotten. Almost all that is known about it is told in the diary of
John Rolfe, who will be remembered as the man who married the Indian
girl, Pocahontas. He says, "A Dutch man-of-war that sold us twenty
Negars came to Jamestown late in August, 1619." An old record has
preserved some of the names of those first twenty slaves, and from other
sources it is known that the ship sailed from Flushing, Holland. But
that is almost all that is definitely known about the first slave ship
and the first slaves that were brought from Africa to the United States.
The first slaves landed in Virginia were not, by any means, the first
slaves that were brought to the New World. Fifty years before Columbus
landed on the island of San Salvador, the first African slaves were
brought from the West Coast of Africa to Spain, and we know from
historical references and records that Negro slavery had become firmly
established in Spain before Columbus made his first voyage. It was,
therefore, natural enough that the Spanish explorers and adventurers,
following close upon the heels of Columbus in search of gold, should
bring their Negro servants with them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account