From Africa to Virginia

Benin bronze plaque. Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation collection.

Visit Jamestown Settlement to learn more about the first Africans in 17th-century Virginia. The museum's permanent gallery and a special family gallery guide highlight the culture of the first known Africans in Virginia, from the kingdom of Ndongo in Angola, and the experience of Africans in 17th-century Virginia. A dramatic gallery multimedia presentation, "From Africa to Virginia," chronicles African encounters with Europeans, the impact on African culture and development of the transatlantic slave trade. At the outdoor Riverfront Discovery Area, learn about technology used by Africans in Angola and the skills in boatbuilding, fishing and metalworking they brought to 17th-century Virginia.  

Discover more about the first Africans in 17th-century Virginia with these online resources from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.

 

Video Resources

Quadricentennial Minutes - The Africans

Jamestown Chronicles: Angela - the African
More about Angela and the first Africans in Virginia

Discovering Jamestown:The West Central Africans:
  Government and Religion
  Culture, Economy and Society
  Practice of Slavery 

Lesson Plan for Students and Image Gallery

Lesson Plan for Students -
The People of Jamestown - The Africans

Image Gallery - West Central Africans

Background Historical Essays

Cultures at Jamestown (PDF)

The Angolan Connection and Slavery in Virginia (PDF)

 Explore the places where African-American history began in eastern Virginia
with an African-American Travel Itinerary.