“I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life; so that, with the loathsomeness of the stench and with my crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat… I know wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me.”
-Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustaus Vassa, the African, 1789

"From the time of the arrival of the ships to their departure, which is usually about three months scarce a day passes without some Negroes being purchased and carried on board; sometimes in small numbers and sometimes in large numbers."
- Alexander Falconbridge, The Account of the Slave Trade in Africa, 1788

The forced removal of enslaved persons from Africa to North Carolina began in the early sixteenth century, launching an epic journey in both proportion and impact.

Enslaved Africans arrived at North Carolina's ports of Bath, Beaufort, Brunswick, Edenton, New Bern, and Wilmington. In an unfamiliar land, these captive people faced horrific conditions while developing ways to resist, survive, and build the infrastructure of a new nation. Within this paradox, enslaved Africans shaped the colony's history, culture, and economy.

Enslaved Africans constructed the foundational structures of North Carolina's earliest settlements. Transported thousands of miles from their families’ homes to North Carolina's docks, the enslaved also formed systems of kinship that manufactured diverse cultural threads that connect descendant communities across North Carolina.

From 1759-1787 eleven voyages are documented, bringing approximately 2,000 enslaved Africans directly from the African continent to North Carolina's shores. This does not include the many lives lost onboard these vessels prior to disembarking in North Carolina’s ports. These vessels illustrate the direct relationship between the African continent and the development of the institution of slavery within North Carolina.

The information located in the table below is provided by Slave Voyages Database and Walter Minchinton's The Seaborne Slave Trade in North Carolina.

1. Embarking on a New Journey
The primary locations of embarkation of these eleven voyages include: Senegal, Sierre Leone, the Windward Coast (which is described according to the Slave Voyages database as the “Cape Mount south-east to and including the Assini river”), and the Gambia, currently named The Republic of the Gambia.
Individuals were brought from various places across the continent, implying that the exact origin of the cultural background of enslaved Africans onboarding these vessels is uncertain. What is clear, is that these enslaved Africans brought expertise in agriculture and other skillsets that contributed to the flourishing economy in North Carolina.
The voyages arriving from Africa to North Carolina illustrate how large European-owned companies on the coast of Africa were responsible for selling Africans to individuals and businesses in North Carolina. For example, the ship the Harlequin was owned by Miles Barber1. Barber, a prominent Liverpool merchant established a factory called the Sierre Leone Company. His enterprise had facilities to build and repair boats, as well as serving as a staging area for the trade of enslaved Africans.

It is imperative that the origins of the individuals coming through North Carolina’s waterways are discussed. Though treated as property, the enslaved Africans were indeed human. Their humanity empowered the descendants of those forced across the Atlantic Ocean to sustain a culture and knowledge that permeates North Carolina’s identity. This culture and knowledge are evident in many facets of North Carolina culture: in music forms such as jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel; in agricultural knowledge related to crop experimentation; and in navigational and maritime expertise.

2. Voyages and Vessels
The 2,000 enslaved individuals coming into North Carolina port(s) arrived in Port Bath, Port Beaufort (consisting of both the locations of New Bern and Beaufort) Port Brunswick, and Wilmington which were central sites of importation. Both Portsmouth Island and Battery Island have also been identified as stops for vessels along importation routes. While the majority of the data on the voyages coming directly from Africa are unsure of the specific site of disembarkation, there are voyages coming from the Caribbean and other locations within the United States that are importing enslaved persons into these ports. For example, in 1754 the vessel Campbell imported “16 negroes” within Port Bath. Additionally, the vessel Virgin Catrene brought “three negroes” into Bath on May 15, 1755.
Onboard these vessels, enslaved Africans endured violence, terror, and abuse. Enslaved Africans were kept in close quarters and bound together by chains. Diseases were spread through the cabin due to the unhygienic conditions. Dehydration and malnutrition impacted the captive Africans while under the decks of said vessels.” Olaudah Equiano also known as Gustavus Vassa, the African, a child captive in the book, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustaus Vassa, the African also details his experience onboard a slave vessel as an enslaved person.

3. New Spaces and Places
Upon arrival, enslaved Africans, shackled and bound, discovered what awaited them in a foreign land. They disembarked at places like Union Point where the ship Hope disembarked in New Bern in 1774. Enslaved Africans were sold in the New Bern Area at Edward Batchelor’s storefront, and in Wilmington, some were sold on the street. They would be relocated throughout North Carolina. In 1787, eighty-one enslaved Africans were brought to Port Edenton on the Jennet, to be acquired by the Lake Company which was responsible for obtaining labor for Somerset Place.
Colonial North Carolina was the main exporter of agricultural products including lumber, domesticated animals, turpentine, rosin, rice, wheat, beans, etc. Enslaved Africans and their descendants provided labor for North Carolina until and well after Emancipation. Without their contribution, North Carolina’s economic landscape could not have been sustained.

To learn more about other resources connected to this subject, visit the NCAAHC site.
https://aahc.nc.gov/programs/africa-carolina-0
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The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project
Our Initiative involves:
-Commemorating the nearly 12 million Africans involved in the Middle Passage of the trans-Atlantic human trade
-Encouraging local communities to hold remembrance ceremonies at each of the 90 documented Middle Passage arrival sites in the United States of America
-Educating the community about the vital contribution that Africans and their descendants made locally and nationally in the development of this nation.
-Researching and identifying all places of entry for Africans during the 350 years of the trans-Atlantic human trade
-Supporting the installation of historic markers to establish a permanent record honoring those who died and those who survived the Middle Passage.
-Partnering with historical and cultural societies, academic institutions, churches, visitor and tourist bureaus, and community organizations to promote African Diaspora history and culture
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To learn about the other recorded disembarkment sites, visit their website.
Source: https://www.middlepassageproject.com/arrival-sites