August 1619 African Landing Day and the ongoing journey towards freedom

African Landing Day Memorial will commemorate an historical event that impacts the history of this nation and forever challenges the concept of freedom and democracy.

The Memorial recognizes the resilience and courage of the men and women from Angola who were forcibly brought to Point Comfort (present day Fort Monroe in Hampton, VA) in 1619.

It will be placed on land that belonged for thousands of years to Indigenous Peoples and was used for hunting and fishing by the Kikotan tribe from the 16th Century until their village was destroyed by the English colonists in 1610.

The first Africans, kidnapped and brought to English North America, came from the Kingdom of Ndongo, one of the two largest states in central Africa ruled by an elected King chosen from a line of royal lineages.

The highly advanced societies were invaded by the Portuguese in the late 1400s who in the ensuing decades meddled in the affairs of the African continent and eventually set in motion the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

In 1619 the São João Bautista sailed from the Port of Luanda, Angola laden with over 350 enslaved Africans bound for Vera Cruz in the colony of New Spain.

The horrors of the middle passage across the Atlantic are unimaginable. As the slave ship transited the Bay of Campeche, two English privateer ships, the White Lion and Treasurer attacked the São João Bautista and seized 60 Africans.

The privateers, looking for refuge and supplies, sailed north until reaching Point Comfort in August 1619. The enslaved Africans were brought ashore and traded for supplies after which they were sold to colonists throughout the area.

This historical event changed the course of the history from the early years of the Virginia colony, to the founding of America and into the future.

The perseverance, resiliency and courage of the men and women who landed at Point Comfort ensured the survival of the nascent colony and enriched those who exploited them