On August 20, 1619, a significant event occurred in American history when the first recorded Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, aboard a Dutch ship. This marked the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade in what would become the United States. The 20 Africans were sold to the English colonists as indentured servants, though this would later evolve into the establishment of chattel slavery as a legal and economic system in the American colonies.

This moment is often recognized as the beginning of a long and painful history of African enslavement in America, which lasted until the Civil War in the 1860s. It is an important date to remember in the context of American history, especially for understanding the origins of slavery and its lasting impact on the nation’s social, cultural, and political landscape.