On August 20, 1619, about 20 Angolans arrived in the British colony of Virginia. They were brought directly to the settlement of Jamestown. There, they were bought or traded for supplies. The English colonists were more than happy to oblige the pirates, who had stolen the slaves from a Portuguese slave ship. Thus was the corruption and greed surrounding the human trafficking that was the slave trade.

The slaves had been kidnapped by the Portuguese and shipped halfway around the world. The arrival of the enslaved Africans in the New World marked the beginning of a two and a half century practice of slavery in North America.

Back in England and within their colonies, there was an internal conflict growing in the Christian hearts and minds of slave owners regarding the problem of the conversion of slaves to Christianity. English law forbade the enslavement of Christians. It was feared the owners would have to emancipate their slaves once they converted. Money and faith came into conflict. For far too long, money would win out.

There was also a fear that Christianity would put the wrong ideas into the slaves, making them rebellious. After all, books such as Exodus are examples of how an enslaved people freed themselves from their captors. The owners petitioned their government for a ruling on the matter of the necessity for freeing the newly baptized slaves.

The government responded in writing: “[There is] colonial legislation declaring that baptism did not alter slave status.” The paper went on to claim their race had such dehumanizing effects, that even their potential Christianity did not change their status. With this ruling, along with the promise that all verses in the Bible regarding freedom and rebellion would be stripped out, the owners permitted production and distribution of the Slave Bible.