1520s
1520–1529Oppression
First enslaved Africans in what is now the US
Spanish colonists bring enslaved Africans to San Miguel de Gualdape on the present-day Carolina/Georgia coast — decades before 1619.
Resistance
The first slave rebellion on US soil
The enslaved Africans at Gualdape revolt and flee to nearby Indigenous communities; the Spanish settlement collapses.
Zoom in — years
Key events
- August 1526· debatedFirst enslaved Africans in what is now the US
Spanish colonists bring enslaved Africans to San Miguel de Gualdape on the present-day Carolina/Georgia coast — decades before 1619.
- November 1526· debatedThe first slave rebellion on US soil
The enslaved Africans at Gualdape revolt and flee to nearby Indigenous communities; the Spanish settlement collapses.