400年前,第一批非洲奴隶被带到美国

400 Years Ago, First Enslaved Africans Arrived in US

In late August 1619, an English ship named the White Lion stopped in what is now the American state of Virginia. It left behind more than 20 captive¹ Angolans. They were the first known Africans to step onto Britain’s American colonies².

Their arrival 400 years ago began the history of slavery in English-speaking America. The practice of enslaving Africans continued for more than 200 years.

From 1525 to 1866, close to 400,000 African men, women and children arrived in what is now the United States. They were sold or traded to wealthy owners of large farms.

“They had to work the crops – the corn fields, the tobacco fields. It was a life they had to endure³ knowing they would probably never be free,” says Calvin Pearson. He leads a history group called Project 1619.

At first, Africans had no official place in the American colonies. They were not called slaves, but they were different from indentured⁴ servants. Those were people who chose to come to the colonies and work in exchange for the cost of travel. After a given number of years, indentured servants were free to move on from such work.

But captive Africans came against their will. And they did not expect freedom.

In 1662, lawmakers in Virginia officially established slavery. They passed a law that said any child born to an enslaved black woman faced being enslaved forever, too.

Under that system, the number of American slaves grew to almost 4 million.

Slave labor⁵ built the country

Slave labor helped build the American colonies and, later, the new nation.

Historian⁶ Cassandra Newby Alexander says, “Slavery was so big and so important to the American economy that it was valued at more than all of America’s (other) industries combined.”

Each American state could decide whether to permit slavery. In Southern states, a large number of enslaved people cared for crops that required a lot of work, such as cotton.

A smaller number of enslaved people lived in Northern states. They mostly cared for white people’s houses and families or did skilled⁷ labor. In time, many Northern states slowly banned slavery.

But Northerners still benefited from the system.

For example, one early white lawmaker in the northeastern state of Rhode Island made a huge amount of money off the lives of enslaved Africans. The lawmaker, James DeWolf, invested⁸ in slave ships, as well as in banks and companies that did business with slaveholders. He also put money in factories that turned cotton into clothes, an operation that helped launch⁹ the country’s industrial revolution.

Even after Rhode Island outlawed¹⁰ the shipment¹¹ of slaves to North America, James DeWolf’s relatives continued the slave trade illegally. One family member says the DeWolfs brought more than 12,000 enslaved Africans to North America. He adds that the family is “probably responsible for about half a million people who are alive today in the Americas.”

The lasting¹² effects of slavery

The system of slavery in the United States ended unofficially in 1863, during the country’s Civil War between Southern and Northern states. It ended officially in 1865. That year, the Constitution was changed to ban enslavement.

But the system of slavery has had a lasting effect.

Vlademiro Fortuna directs the National Museum of Slavery in Luanda, Angola. He said the hundreds of years of slave trade changed his country. Today, at least one-third of Angolans live in poverty, even though Angola has one of the best economies in sub-Saharan Africa.

“This country was harmed in every single aspect,” says Fortuna. “The social fabric¹³ was destroyed.”

Fortuna adds that slavery also deeply affected¹⁴ other African societies. “It wasn’t possible during the times of slavery and colonization¹⁵ for African societies to reorganize their political and labor systems… Sometimes, people try to forget this part of the country’s history.”

In the United States, some lawmakers have proposed¹⁶ creating a group to examine and address the continued “negative effects” of slavery in the country. The measure notes that laws and policies even after slavery ended have discriminated¹⁷ against black people.

Supporters of the bill suggested that the U.S. government should pay money to the descendants¹⁸ of slaves, or formally apologize to them, or both.

Senate¹⁹ Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposes the idea of paying reparations, however. “I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago, for whom none of us currently²⁰ living are responsible, is a good idea,” he said.

But many people alive today do remember. Among them are descendants of James DeWolf, the white lawmaker who made a fortune off the slave system. His relatives have made a film and created an organization to increase awareness²¹ of the slave trade and its lasting effects.

Descendants of enslaved Africans also recall²² their ancestors’ place in history. Brenda Tucker is a relative of likely the first child born to Africans in the American colonies. His name was William Tucker. His body is buried near the place where the White Lion ship landed in 1619.

As she visits William Tucker’s burial place, Brenda Tucker notes that many of those who were forced onto slave ships from Angola did not survive. “But the ones that did survive were the healthy ones, our ancestors.”

Tucker looks around the site, and adds that she cannot pass through the area without thinking of an ancestor – someone who is owed our thanks.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

And I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

endure - v. to experience (pain or suffering) for a long time

fabric - n. the basic structure of something

society - n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values

reparations - n. money that a country or group that loses a war pays because of the damage, injury, deaths, etc., it has caused

fortune - n. a very large amount of money

negative - adj. harmful or bad : not wanted

1 captive   

adj.被俘虏的，不得自由行动的，被监禁的

参考例句：

• They led him captive.他们将他活捉。
• The rock star had a captive audience.那位摇滚歌星倾倒了许多观众。

2 colonies   

n.殖民地( colony的名词复数 )；（侨民等）聚居区；（动植物的）群体；（来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的）聚居人群

参考例句：

• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small farms and self-sufficiency. 但就整个殖民地来说，人们主要依靠小型农场，过着自给自足的生活。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 endure   

vt.忍受(痛苦、困难等)，耐住

参考例句：

• If other people can endure hardship,why can't I? 人家能吃苦，我就不能？
• You can only guess at what mental suffering they endure.你只能猜测他们忍受着多大的精神痛苦。

4 indentured   

v.以契约束缚（学徒）( indenture的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Africans became indentured servants, trading labor for shelter and eventual freedom. 非洲人成为契约上的仆人，以劳力交换庇护及最终的自由。 来自互联网
• They are descendants of indentured importees. 他们是契约外来工的后代。 来自互联网

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

7 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

8 invested   

v.投资，花费( invest的过去式和过去分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等）

参考例句：

• The money will be invested in managed funds. 这笔钱将投资于管理基金。
• He invested his lawyer with complete power to act for him. 他让律师全权代办。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

10 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

11 shipment   

n.装货，装载的货物

参考例句：

• The goods are done up in bundles for shipment.货物已打包以备装船。
• Please advise the date of shipment as soon as possible.请尽快通知装货日期。

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

13 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。

16 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

17 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

18 descendants   

n. 后代，后裔 名词descendant的复数形式

参考例句：

• They were the direct descendants of the Dutch settlers. 他们是荷兰移民的直系后裔。
• They are the descendants of Queen Victoria. 他们是维多利亚女王的后裔。

19 senate   

n.参议院，上院

参考例句：

• They feel deeply the honour of belonging to the Senate.他们为作为参议院的成员而深感荣幸。
• His unsuccessful senate run was his last hurrah.这次失败的参议员竞选是他最后的尝试。

20 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

21 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

22 recall   

n.回忆，召回，取消；vt.回想起，召回，与...相似，恢复

参考例句：

• As you may recall, he was in the army then.你可能记得当时他正在从军。
• We demand that you recall your army from our border.我们要求你们撤回在我们边境的部队。