Group of African American Related Memorabilia - Americana

Group of black related memorabilia such as postcards and advertisements. Small sampling illustrated.

African-American history commenced with the arrival of Africans in North America during the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1579, freed Spaniards, previously enslaved, arrived at New Albion in California aboard the Golden Hind, under the command of Francis Drake. The European colonization of the Americas, coupled with the ensuing Atlantic slave trade, resulted in the extensive transportation of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. Of the estimated 10 to 12 million Africans sold through the Barbary slave trade, approximately 388,000 were brought to North America, either for European slavery or servitude in the Americas. Upon their arrival in various European colonies in North America, these enslaved Africans were sold to white colonists, primarily to labor on cash crop plantations. The arrival of a group of enslaved Africans in the English Virginia Colony in 1619 signifies the onset of slavery in the colonial history of the United States. By the year 1776, it is estimated that around 20% of the population in British North America was of African descent, encompassing both free individuals and those in bondage.