The White Lion
The White Lion was a Dutch-registered English privateer ship that played a significant role in the early 17th-century transatlantic slave trade. In August 1619, this vessel famously landed at Port Comfort in Virginia, marking the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to British North America. Captained by John Colyn Jope, The White Lion and its counterpart, the Treasurer, intercepted a Portuguese ship, the San Juan Batista, in the Atlantic Ocean, taking approximately sixty enslaved Africans from its hold. These individuals were initially traded for food and supplies, leading to their establishment in Virginia, where they became some of the earliest known African inhabitants in the region.
While historically significant, it is important to recognize that this event is often cited as a pivotal moment in the history of slavery in America, though some experts argue it more accurately represents the introduction of enslaved Africans into Virginia rather than the initiation of slavery itself. The individuals aboard The White Lion were not the first enslaved people in North America, as earlier instances involved Native Americans and Spanish settlers. Some of those who arrived later gained their freedom, leading to the emergence of free African landowners in the colony. The story of The White Lion reflects a complex historical narrative involving colonization, trade, and the beginnings of systemic enslavement in the Americas.
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The White Lion
The White Lion was a Dutch-registered English privateer ship that sailed in the early 1600s. In 1619, it attacked another ship at sea and confiscated the enslaved Africans onboard. In late August 1619, The White Lion landed at Port Comfort in what is now Fort Monroe, Virginia. Its captain traded some of the enslaved people for food. They are believed to be the first Africans to live in Virginia. Most were enslaved, although a few gained their freedom. While this event has been referred to as the beginning of slavery in the New World or in America, experts contend that it is more accurately described as the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to British North America.
Background
The White Lion was a privateer. This is a private person or ship that has been granted a letter of marque, or a special commission issued by the governing authority of a country. Letters of marque were often but not always issued during times of war. This authority, which is often given by a king or other royalty, authorizes the privateer to capture ships belonging to enemy nations and plunder them on behalf of the government that issued the letter. Privateers kept a percentage of whatever they captured. In exchange, they helped their government expand its military might at sea and raise funds to support the war effort.
Overview
In 1619, two ships owned by Robert Rich, the British Earl of Warwick, were sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. They were known as The White Lion and Treasurer. Their captains, John Colyn Jope and Daniel Elfrith, respectively, departed Europe from a Flushing, a Dutch port known as a haven and launch point for pirates and privateers. The two captains were privateers operating under Dutch letters of marque. Jope’s letter was issued by the William I, Duke of Orange, while Elfrith’s letter was most likely issued by the Duke of Savoy. The Dutch were at war with Spain, and Spain was allied with Portugal. This meant that the privateers were authorized to attack and pillage Spanish or Portuguese ships.
The two ships encountered the San Juan Batista, a Portuguese ship engaged in trade in the Middle Passage, the triangular area where European ships sailed to Africa with European-made goods. The goods were traded for enslaved Africans. Some of them were captured by other Africans, while others were captured by Europeans. These enslaved Africans were taken to other areas, including the Americas, where they were sold or traded for raw materials for transport back to Europe. The San Juan Batista left Africa loaded with about 350 people taken from West Central Africa. They were being transported to the Gulf Coast of present-day Mexico. As many as 150 of the captives died during the journey. The White Lion and Treasurer took about sixty of those who remained, putting some on each ship.
In late August 1619, the White Lion reached Point Comfort near the modern town of Hampton, Virginia. The 160-ton, three-mast sailing vessel was badly in need of provisions. Captain Jope sold or traded between twenty and thirty of the enslaved Africans in exchange for food and other supplies. The Treasurer arrived a short time later and also traded stolen enslaved Africans for provisions.
The individuals who arrived on the White Lion were the first known Africans to be brought into Virginia, which also made them the first brought to an English colony in North America. However, they were not the first enslaved people in North America because Native American tribes occasionally enslaved enemies and were also enslaved by Europeans. The White Lion Africanswere also not the first enslaved people brought to North America by Europeans; Spanish ships had carried enslaved Africans to what is now Florida and the Carolinas in the 1500s. Experts state they are most accurately described as the first Africans brought to Virginia and the first enslaved Africans brought to an English colony.
The arrival of the White Lion was recorded by colonist John Rolfe, who noted that it carried about twenty Africans. A census the following year recorded thirty Africans. Since no other arrival of slave ships were recorded, historians contend that all the enslaved Africans arrived on the White Lion and Treasurer. Most were acquired by Sir George Yeardley, the local governor, and Abraham Piersey, a prominent businessperson. The majority were transported to Jamestown. They were among hundreds of people from the area taken by Spanish and Portuguese slave traders and loaded aboard their fleet of more than thirty slave ships.
Many of the Africans had been baptized into Catholicism by their captors and given European names. Two of them, Antony and Isabella, gave birth to a son, William, in around 1624. He is believed to be the first child of African ancestry born in Virginia. At least one couple, Anthony and Mary Johnson, earned their freedom and became landowners.
Bibliography
“The 1619 Landing—Virginia’s First Africans Report & FAQs.” Hampton History Museum, hampton.gov/3580/The-1619-Landing-Report-FAQs. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
“African Americans at Jamestown.” Historic Jamestown-National Park Service, www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/african-americans-at-jamestown.htm. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
Jacobs, Jack. “New Research Sheds Light on 1619 Arrival of Africans to English North America.” Virginia Pilot, 18 Mar. 2019, www.pilotonline.com/history/article‗5e1718a2-49a5-11e9-9b99-efade27e1d17.html. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
“The ‘Middle Passage’ (The Transatlantic Slave Trade), a story.” African American Registry, aaregistry.org/story/the-middle-passage-a-story/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
Springston, Rex. “Much of What We’ve Been Told About Virginia’s 1619 First Africans Is Wrong.” Virginia Mercury, 11 Aug. 2019, www.virginiamercury.com/2019/08/11/what-are-we-commemorating-much-of-what-weve-been-told-about-virginias-1619-first-africans-is-wrong/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
“Virginia’s First Africans.” Virginia Encyclopedia, encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/africans-virginias-first/. Accessed 14 April 2023.
Waxman, Olivia B. “The First Africans in Virginia Landed in 1619. It Was a Turning Point for Slavery in American History—But Not the Beginning.” Time, 20 Aug. 2019, time.com/5653369/august-1619-jamestown-history/. Accessed 14 April 2023.
“The ‘White Lion’ Slave Ship, a story.” African American Registry, aaregistry.org/story/the-white-lion-slave-ship-a-story/. Accessed 14 April 2023.