The name of the first African slave ship out of the United States was Desire, which sailed out of Massachusetts eighteen years later. The first slave ship to land in Colonial America went to Jamestown, Virginia, in August 1619. Throughout the course of the Atlantic Slave Trade, an estimated 12 million Africans were captured in their homeland and forcibly shipped across the Atlantic, on more than 35,000 voyages, starting in the 17th century* The African Diaspora scattered Africans throughout the Caribbean and Americas. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book “ From the Family Kitchen.” Introduction : In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega searches old newspapers and other online resources to learn more about the African slave trade in America.
