Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia by Ric Murphy is a historical account of Africans brought to the Americas by European colonists, who used them as slaves to build their burgeoning colonies. In 1619, thousands of captive Angolans were taken to the coastal village of Luanda, Angola, to be sold as slaves in foreign lands. After scores of Ndongos were captured, they were forcefully boarded on the Spanish ship, San Juan Bautista, and set off toward Vera Cruz in New Spain. However, on the way, the ship was trapped and hijacked by English privateers, who divided the Africans among their two ships, the White Lion and the Treasurer. From these two ships, the first Africans landed on the shores of America in Jamestown, Virginia.

Author Ric Murphy sheds light on a monumental event in human history through this well-researched and meticulously crafted tale of the Arrival of First Africans in Virginia. With a smooth-flowing narrative, the author explores the circumstances in which the Africans fell victim to one of the greatest human rights violations in the history of mankind, where some of the most influential people of that era enslaved an entire generation of people to pursue their ambitions and satisfy their limitless greed. The appalling conditions and harrowing situations that African people were put into have an impact when you read about it. You can’t help but ponder the lengths to which humans can go to hurt each other. This is a must-read for anyone interested in human history.

Pikasho Deka
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It is a well-known fact that slavery was once an accepted practice in the United States, but how did it all start? Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia narrates the capture of thirty-two Africans in Kabasa, Angola, and their tumultuous sea journey to Virginia—which was plagued by attacks, pain, seasickness, lamentations, suicides, and poor hygiene. Ric Murphy uses “well documented first-person accounts” to give readers a new picture of how life was in the Virginia colony. With their useful skills and knowledge, the first documented Africans helped revive a colony suffering from several problems: disease, famine, and attacks from the indigenous people. The book also reveals how the Virginia colony and some European colonial countries engaged in battles, maltreatment of Africans, politics, corruption, slave trade, and piracy.

Ric Murphy sugarcoats nothing and tells it like it is. Expect a thorough and detailed book with statistical figures, letters, and a deep analysis of the events surrounding the capture of the first Africans in the United States. The book was quite educational for me as it covers a wide range of information about different countries and their discords and practices. I enjoyed learning about the Bantu people and how they came from powerful African kingdoms. Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia reveals how the captured Africans were much more than what they were referred to as; slaves. They were exploited kings and queens with important knowledge, skills, family, and feelings. In a way, the book calls on today’s generation to reexamine and question our accepted norms in today’s world—a consciousness lesson everyone should learn.

Foluso Falaye
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There are huge gaps in the public understanding of the role slaves played in history, thanks in no small part to an unwillingness by schools to fully explore and examine the horrible way in which such people were treated. That’s why historians like Ric Murphy are so important, writers unwilling to regard such periods as relics of the past and who are keen to explore the modern-day ramifications of these acts. The book Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia explores the contributions made by the Angolans as well as the abuses done to them. It looks at how racial tensions were stirred not just by the status of slaves and free people but also by the successes they accomplished from the labors of the slaves and how the colonists felt threatened by them. There are a lot of fascinating stories hidden in the dark parts of history that go ignored because we’re too ashamed to fully reflect on them. Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia does not shy away from telling the full story of the people who were abducted from their homes and who made the best lives they could in unimaginable circumstances.

 K.C. Finn
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