WHEN the first Africans arrived at Virginia in August 1619, ¹ they
were initially accorded an indentured servant status similar to that
of most Virginia colonists. In two letters, John Rolfe, Secretary
and Recorder of the Virginia colony, reported on the arrival of the Africans.
One letter stated that a Dutch man-of-war "brought not any thing but 20. and
odd Negroes, which the Governor and Cape Marchant bought for victualles." ²
The other letter, describing the same event, stated: "[A]bout the last of Au-
gust, came in a dutch man of warre that sold us twenty Negars." ³ The refer-
ences in the letters to "buying" and "selling" do not necessarily mean that
these Africans were being sold into chattel slavery. During that period, the
majority of the population in Virginia consisted of servants. ⁴ It was common
practice to refer to the transaction of acquiring a servant as "buying" a person.
Buying in that sense simply meant buying the person's services and not actu-
ally buying the person's body. ⁵ Thus, it would appear that, in 1619, the first
Africans became one more group in a majority servant class made up of
whites and Native Americans. ⁶

There are two reasons, however, why the Africans probably did not join
this servant class as full equals. First, most but not all white servants came to
the colony voluntarily and engaged in service with a written contract of inden-
ture for a specific period. ⁷ At the expiration of the period of their indenture,
whites were released into freedom. The master of a white indentured servant
could not, at his sole desire and discretion, prolong the period of servitude.
In fact, court approval was necessary for masters and servants to extend the
original indenture. ⁸ Only if the white servant had broken the contract of in-
denture, or if the servant had in some way violated the laws of the colony,

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