Named Africans at Point Comfort: Antoney, Mary, and the 1619 Arrivals

Among the first Africans arriving in English Virginia in 1619 were individuals recorded by name: 'Antoney Negro,' 'Mary Negro,' and others. They arrived as war captives seized from the Portuguese slave ship São João Bautista by English privateers. Their initial status was ambiguous, some served as indentured servants rather than permanent slaves, a legal ambiguity that would close decisively over the following decades.