People, Locations, Episodes

Black Hair Care and Its Culture, a story

This date is Hairstylist Appreciation Day and The Registry looks briefly at African American hair.

The history of “Black Hair and Beauty Culture” mirrors the intricacy of both African and American cultures. Over the years, African American hair has been associated with the ideology of white visual conception. Some people say that blacks have embraced hairstyles and beauty methods that reflect popular European standards of beauty. However, Blacks have used their West African roots and their own artistry to create styles and standards that reflect a unique black culture.

The Society of Merchant Ventures is Founded

*The Society of Merchant Ventures is celebrated on this date in 1442. They are a British charitable organization in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild that funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. The society had its first Royal Charter in 1552 and for centuries […]

Christopher Columbus, Explorer born

*The birth of Christopher Columbus is estimated to be on this date in 1451.  He was a white-Italian explorer, navigator, and slave trader of African and indigenous people.  He was from the territory of the Republic of Genoa (now part of modern Italy).  His father was Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who worked in Genoa […]

Pedro Niño, Navagator born

*The birth of Pedro Niño is celebrated on this date in c. 1455. He was a Black Spanish navigator and explorer. Pedro Alonso Niño was born in Moguer, Spain he was of mixed heritage of African and Spaniard. He was known as El Negro, and his father was one of the sailors Captured from Elmina. According […]

“Soul Food” in America, a story

*This dates Registry from 1492, offers a brief article on the origins of Soul food.

Hernando de Soto, Slave Trader, and Explorer born

*The birth of Hernando de Soto is celebrated on this date in 1496. He was a Spanish explorer, slave trader, and conquistador involved in the middle passage.   His expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula included the conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru. He led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United […]

John Rolfe, Businessman, and Slave Owner born

*The birth of John Rolfe is celebrated on this date in 1585. He was a white English slave owner, tobacco planter, and part of the American colonial First Family of Virginia. John Rolfe was born in Heacham, Norfolk, England, the son of John Rolfe and Dorothea Mason, and was baptized on May 6, 1585. At that […]

Plantations in the United States of America, a story

*Plantations in America are affirmed on this date in 1600. These were planned structural communities governed by and that relied on chattel slavery.  The plantation complex in the Southern United States was the built environment that was common on agricultural plantations in the Antebellum South from the 17th into the 20th century. The complex included everything […]

The ‘White Lion’ Slave Ship, a story

*The White Lion slave ship is affirmed on this date in 1604. This was an English pirate operating under a Dutch letter of marque during the middle passage. The ship brought the first Africans to the English colony of Virginia in 1619, a year before the arrival of the Mayflower in New England. Though the African captives were sold as […]

The Virginia Company of London is Chartered

*The Virginia Company of London was chartered on this date in 1606. This was a slave-trading business and refers collectively to two joint-stock companies. They were chartered during the middle passage under James I of England to establish settlements on the coast of North America. The two companies are referred to as the “Virginia Company of London” […]

Anthony Johnson, Indentured Servant Owner born

*The birth of Anthony Johnson is celebrated on this date in 1606. He was an African slave and farmer and one of the first Black property owners in colonial America. He was a tobacco farmer in Maryland and had his right to legally own a slave recognized by the Virginia courts. There is no information […]

The Virginia Company of London Begins Operations

*On this date in 1607, the Virginia Company of London settled on Jamestown Island as the place to build their fort in America.  Also called the London Company, it was an English joint-stock company. It was established in 1606 by a royal charter by King James I to establish colonial settlements in North America. In […]

The Headright Property System in America, a story

*The Headright Property System in America began on this date in 1618. A headright refers to a legal grant of land given to settlers during the European colonization of the Americas. Headright is most notable for its role in the expansion of the Thirteen Colonies; the Virginia Company gave headright to settlers, and the Plymouth […]

The Dutch West India Company is Formed

*The Dutch West India Company was founded on this date in 1621. They were a chartered company of Dutch merchants, slave traffickers, and foreign investors. Among its founders were Willem Usselincx and Jessé de Forest. It was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in the Dutch West Indies by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given […]

The Compagnie de Saint-Christophe Slave Trading Company is Chartered

*The charter of Compagnie de Saint-Christophe is affirmed on this date in 1626.  This slave-trading company was chartered by France to exploit the island of Saint-Christophe, the present-day Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 1625, a Pierre Bélain sieur d’Esnambuc, landed on Saint-Christophe with slaves. Returning to France in 1626, he applied to and received a […]