jan 1, 1502 - The first reported African slaves in the New World

Description:

The first recorded arrival in North America occurred in 1502 when Juan de Córdoba sent several of his black slaves from Spain to Hispaniola. In 1517 the first slaves sent directly from Africa arrived to do forced labor on the Spanish plantations and mines in the Caribbean islands. As the Native Americans enslaved by the Spanish died by the thousands from overwork and disease, more Africans were captured and shipped to replace them. The Atlantic slave trade was on. It remained a critical and brutal element of the Spanish and English economies in North America for over four centuries. (The last nation in the western hemisphere to abolish slavery was Brazil in 1888). Here we read three documents of the early slave trade that you will find reminiscent of the exploration narratives in this section.