FIRST AFRICAN SLAVES

In 1712 a French ship of war, the Africane, arrived in Mobile with 129 Africans, half the number that had embarked from Guinea in West Africa. The Marie followed, landing with 338 slaves. Then the Neride, which sailed from Angola with a cargo of 350 and arrived with 238 alive. Most slaves in Alabama immigrated with their masters following the usual planter routes into the area. Some were brought by slave traders who purchased them from Virginia and Maryland owners or bought them in the slave markets of the East and then transported the chattels by ship to Mobile and sometimes walked them in coffles to Alabama.

Along with these new people into the territory, came African American Slaves . They tilled the land and planted and harvested the crops, took care of children, cooked, sewed, built homes and barns. Today descendents still live in Burnt Corn, bearing the names of Coker, Grace, Rankins, Lett, Watson, and Salter.

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