Significance of the Monument
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.
The African Landing Memorial at Fort Monroe seeks to interpret this historical event beginning with the origins of the people—what their life might have been like prior to their abduction, the journey across thousands of miles of ocean– to their landing at Point Comfort and the lives
they made for themselves.
To learn more about the history of the first African brought to Virginia in 1619 and the memorial, which is currently under construction, please visit 1619landing.org.