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Stolen from Africa, enslaved people first arrived in colonial Virginia in 1619
Taken by Portuguese slave traders, kidnapped by English pirates, and taken far from home, African arrivals to Virginia in 1619 marked the origins of U.S. slavery.
Traditions Endure
Painted in the late 1700s, “The Old Plantation” reveals that enslaved communities maintained practices from their ancestral African cultures, such as the musical instruments and stick dancing depicted in this artwork. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Williamsburg, Virginia.
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