Our History
Transatlantic Slave Trade
1526
Around this time, Portugal, England, Spain, and others started to have long-distance sea voyage capabilities and wanted to put those to use. Portugal took the lead and captured (or kidnapped) thousands to hundreds of thousands of native Africans from their villages, and claimed them as slaves. They brought them aboard small, cramped, nasty boats that would transport the captives from Africa to modern-day Brazil. Soon other European countries followed and captured slaves of their own from Africa. This was when the Transatlantic slave trade took began, and millions of native Africans got ripped from their homeland and brought to the Americas by a terrible sea voyage called the Middle Passage.
First Colonial Slaves
1619
This is the year that American History made its mark and provided the Jamestown settlement in colonial America with its first slaves.
First Colony to Legalize Slavery
December 10, 1641
Massachusetts becomes the first North American colony to legalize slavery.
Virginia Slave Code
1705
The Virginia Law Codes were created. These law codes were the first laws in the U.S. to restrict the abilities and freedoms of enslaved African Americans. This was a significant development in slave ownership in the colonies because the codes paved the way for increased control over the natural rights and freedoms of slaves.
Stono Rebellion
September 9, 1739
The Stono Rebellion was a slave revolt in South Carolina. It was the largest slave revolt in the British colonies. Between 35-50 slaves in the revolt were either captured or killed, and 25 colonists killed.
Negro Act of 1740
1740
This act was a series of laws that further restricted slaves' activities, including their ability to gather, grow their own food, make money, or educate themselves.
American Revolutionary War
Apr 19, 1775 – Sep 3, 1783
The Revolutionary war was fought over disputes the 13 colonies had with Great Britain controlling them from overseas. The colonies were victorious, and the United States was formed. Slaves fought on both sides of the war, and at the end of the war, some earned their freedom from slavery.
African Slave Trade Banned
January 1, 1808
This was the date that congress officially banned the transatlantic slave trade. This wasn’t as impactful to the north, as they relied less on slave labor. The south agreed to the ban of the international slave trade because with over 4 million slaves in the United States, they now had a self-sustaining slave population.
Nat Turner Rebllion
August 21, 1831
Nat turner was an African American abolitionist who successfully led the only effective slave rebellion. The Nat Turner rebellion was successful because they were able to escape captivity and do some harm to their captors. The escaped black slaves killed approximately 60 people. This rebellion was one of the few successful revolts in U.S slave history.
Harriet Tubman's First Escape
September 17, 1849
Harriet Tubman escapes slavery via the Underground Railroad from her Maryland plantation. She would make 19 more successful trips over the next 10 years freeing other slaves, to include her family.
“I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.” ~Harriet Tubman
Fugitive Slave Act
September 18, 1850
This set of laws made it so that all slaves whether free or not free (escaped) be returned to their original masters. This gave slave owners the opportunity of obtaining their lost slaves. This act also held the government responsible for finding, capturing, and returning these lost slaves.
Civil War
April 12, 1861
The start of the civil war marked an important day in American History for slaves. On this day, half of the United States of America split into two opposing sides. The northern states (the Union) and the southern states (the Confederates). While the north was beginning to abolish slavery and free their slaves, the south was pro-slavery and relied on it heavily as their primary workforce. They felt it was necessary because the south was full of agricultural societies that depended on the use of laborers to maintain big farms called plantations.
Emancipation Proclamation
January 1, 1863
As President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation. This presidential proclamation and executive order issued by Lincoln declared that "All persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free." (Lincoln).
End of Civil War
April 9, 1865
To end the civil war, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops and disbanded the confederacy. Although this conflict between the south and north had ended politically and militarily, this was not the real end of the war for the slaves. The southern plantation owners were not happy with the Emancipation Proclamation or the defeat of the Confederate force so most decided to keep their slaves illegally, threatening to hunt them down if they tried to escape. It was devastating for the existing slaves because instead of getting their freedom like the Emancipation Proclamation entitled, they were forced to continue on in slavery. It would not be until later in the year when the U.S would officially abolish slavery.