Tracing the Earliest Free African Arrivals in America: A Historical Overview from the 1500s to 1865

This report examines the historical record of free African individuals who arrived in what is now the United States from the early colonial period through 1865, when slavery was legally abolished. It covers key figures, estimated numbers, and significant events based on available evidence, spanning Spanish and English colonial territories. The following sections provide a factual summary of these arrivals and their presence over time.

Part 1: The First Documented Arrival – Juan Garrido

Juan Garrido, born in West Africa around 1480, is among the earliest recorded free African individuals to reach what would later become U.S. territory. He arrived in Florida in 1513 as part of Juan Ponce de León’s Spanish expedition, participating as a conquistador rather than in servitude. Having likely secured his status in Spain or Portugal beforehand, Garrido represents an initial instance of a free African presence in American history, predating English colonization efforts. Other free or semi-free Africans may have joined similar Spanish ventures, though documentation from this era is limited.

Part 2: Pre-1619 Presence – Spanish Territories

Before 1619, when the "20 and odd" Africans arrived in Virginia under English control, the African population in areas now part of the U.S. was small and tied to Spanish activities. St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565 as the oldest continuous European settlement in the present-day U.S., had an estimated 20 to 50 African residents by 1619. This group included both enslaved individuals and a smaller number of free people who arrived as soldiers, laborers, or craftsmen under Spanish rule. Earlier expeditions, such as those led by Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and Hernando de Soto from 1539 to 1543, brought additional Africans—like Estebanico, who transitioned from enslavement to a more autonomous role—to regions including Florida and the Southeast, though these were not permanent settlements. English colonies, such as Jamestown (established in 1607), show no record of African residents before 1619, suggesting a pre-1619 total of approximately 20 to 60 African individuals, mostly in Spanish Florida.

Part 3: The 1619 Event – The "20 and Odd" Arrival

In 1619, approximately 20 to 30 Africans, referred to as the "20 and odd," arrived at Point Comfort, Virginia, aboard the White Lion, having been taken from a Portuguese ship. They entered the English colony, where slavery was a recognized practice, initially as indentured servants. Some, such as Anthony Johnson, later became free landowners by the 1630s. This arrival is the basis for The New York Times’ "1619 Project," launched in 2019, which uses the year 1619 to mark a significant point in the history of Africans in English America, distinct from earlier Spanish encounters involving free West Africans like Garrido.

Part 4: Free African and Other Arrivals from 1619 to 1865 – A Steady Flow

From 1619 to 1865, when slavery ended with the Thirteenth Amendment, free African arrivals to what became the U.S. were far fewer than the enslaved population brought via the transatlantic trade, which totaled about 389,000 Africans. Free individuals from Africa and other regions arrived in distinct phases:
• Early Colonial Period (1619–1700): A small number, likely dozens, of free Africans arrived in English colonies, possibly from the West Indies like Bermuda.
• 18th Century: Several hundred free individuals, often sailors or traders from Caribbean regions such as Barbados (including Barbadians of African descent), reached port cities over the century.
• 19th Century: After the 1808 ban on the international slave trade, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 free individuals arrived, including Haitian migrants (of African descent) following Haiti’s 1804 revolution and about 1,000 to 2,000 "recaptives" freed from intercepted slave ships, primarily of African origin.
In total, approximately 5,000 to 15,000 free African and Caribbean individuals are estimated to have arrived during this 246-year period. Meanwhile, the free African-descended population within the U.S., including those born or manumitted locally, grew to 488,070 by 1860, per census data, though this reflects residents rather than new arrivals.

Conclusion: A Documented Historical Record

The record of free African arrivals in America, from Juan Garrido in 1513 to the limited inflows through 1865, provides a detailed account of their presence across early colonial and national periods. While English territories saw the establishment of slavery with the "20 and odd" in 1619, Spanish regions recorded earlier arrivals of free West Africans in small numbers. By the end of slavery, thousands of free Africans and individuals from Caribbean regions had arrived from abroad, alongside a larger domestic population. This summary, based on historical data as of March 2025, offers a factual overview of these movements and their place in America’s development.

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