The more time I spend studying American History, the more I find how much we didn't learn in school as youngsters. In 1619 a Dutch ship arrives in Jamestown just out of a violent storm. The ship is virtually empty save for 20 some Africans the captain stole from a Spanish ship. The captain traded the individuals with the locals for food and sailed away.It was never recorded at the time the status of these individuals but records from 1623 & 1624 list some as servants (not slaves) and later records show a few owned land. Most likely some where eventually slaves other free. Whatever the case, Africans cam to the shores of the North American Continent before even the Pilgrims of Plymouth, MA.