The first American slave owner is widely recognized to be a man named Anthony Johnson. He arrived in Virginia in the early 1600s, likely as an indentured servant himself. After earning his freedom, Johnson acquired land and established a successful tobacco plantation.
In 1654, a court ruling granted Johnson ownership of John Casor, who became the first recorded African American to be kept as a slave for life in the British colonies. This legal decision set a significant precedent for the institution of slavery in America.
Anthony Johnson’s story is critical to understanding the early dynamics of race and labor in the American colonies. Initially, the distinction between indentured servitude and slavery was not as pronounced, but Johnson’s case illustrates how these boundaries began to solidify, laying the groundwork for the systemic and institutional racism that would develop in the centuries to follow.