Arrival of the First Documented Africans in English America
Directed by Ric Murphy2023 53m
In 2019, Americans commemorated the four hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the first documented Africans in English America, who arrived in Virginia from Angola in August 1619. This momentous arrival, an event that inspired new scholarship on the meaning of our nation's origins and founding principles, as well as sparked a fierce controversy over the legacy of slavery. Based on the award-winning book, the Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia (2020), the documentary compacts and considers all the forces at play in this compelling complex story including: international politics during the era of European maritime exploration; the rich if not well understood history and culture of West Africa; the role of religion, from the indigenous to the institutionalized; the transatlantic slave trade; and the often-tragic consequences of global financial competition, piracy, and corruption. Most of all, the story of thirty-two Africans, finally returning to them something that history and all its controversies had stolen: their voices.
Where to Watch Arrival of the First Documented Africans in English America
