The First Thanksgiving: A Forgotten Feast at Berkeley Plantation
On December 4, 1619, a group of English settlers gathered at Berkeley Plantation in present-day Virginia to hold a ceremony of thanksgiving. Unlike the widely recognized 1621 Pilgrim feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts, this earlier event marked the first officially documented Thanksgiving celebration on American soil. The settlers, led by Captain John Woodlief, arrived after a […]
First Enslaved Africans Arrive in Jamestown, Setting the Stage for Slavery in North America
On August 20, 1619, the first recorded arrival of enslaved Africans in English North America occurred at Jamestown, Virginia. This event marked a significant and tragic milestone in American history. The Africans were brought to Jamestown by a Dutch ship, which had captured them from a Portuguese vessel engaged in the transatlantic slave trade. This […]