Table of Contents
When was Casor born?
The only date definitely connected to John Casor’s life is this day in 1654 or 1655. It’s not when he was born, when he achieved something or when he died. It’s when he became a slave. Casor was originally an indentured servant, which meant he was practically a slave in some senses.
When was the first person enslaved?
The arrival of the first captives to the Jamestown Colony, in 1619, is often seen as the beginning of slavery in America—but enslaved Africans arrived in North America as early as the 1500s.
Who was John Punch and where did he come from?
The DNA of his descendants suggest that John Punch probably came from Cameroon or Ivory Coast. He was owned by Hugh Gwyn. John Punch and two white slaves ran away to Maryland and were captured and returned to Virginia. John Punch received a lifetime indenture in punishment for running away.
How is John Punch related to Ralph Bunche?
Punch’s descendants were known by the Bunch or Bunche surname. Punch is believed to be one of the paternal ancestors of the 20th-century American diplomat Ralph Bunche, the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. John Punch was an African slave brought to Virginia by 1640.
Why did John Punch get a lifetime indenture?
John Punch received a lifetime indenture in punishment for running away. The white slaves received whippings and were still set free at the end of their seven years indenture.
When was John Punch sentenced to chattel slavery?
Another, more permanent colony was established in Florida in 1565 — Saint Augustine. So, when the burgesses who ruled the Virginia colony sentenced John Punch to indentured servitude in perpetuity, they sentenced him to a form of chattel slavery that already existed in the New World — even in what would become the United States.