1524 - Verrazzano Reports Groups of Africans Living On The Coast of North America

[GreatGazoo]

Around 34-degrees latitude eg somewhere near Cape Fear, NC. Gio is writing to King Francis 1, patron of the voyage:

So we anchored off the coast and sent the small boat in to land. We had seen many people coming to the seashore, but they fled when they saw us approaching; several times they stopped and turned around to look at us in great wonderment. We reassured them with various signs, and some of them came up,
...
They go completely naked except that around their loins they wear skins of small animals like martens, with a narrow belt of grass around the body, to which they tie various tails of other animals which hang down to the knees; the rest of the body is bare, and so is
the head. Some of them wear garlands of birds’ feathers. They are dark in color, not unlike the Ethiopians, with thick black hair, not very long, tied back behind the head like a small tail. As for the physique of these men, they are well proportioned, of medium height, a little taller than we are. They have broad chests, strong arms, and the legs and other parts of the body are well composed. There is nothing else, except that they tend to be rather broad in the face: but not all, for we saw many with angular faces. They have big black eyes, and an attentive and open look.

https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/amerbegin/contact/text4/verrazzano.pdf

I think Verrazzano is accurate but the idea that these were Africans living autonomously in (what would become) North Carolina has been disputed. The pushback is that 'Verrrazzano is just describing darker skinned Indians' but in reading the whole letter, you will see that Verrazzano differentiates other groups he encounters as having "olive skin" etc. Verrazzano knews what Ethiopians look like and it isn't just the skin color but the hair, eyes and physicality which he compares to Ethiopians.

I can think of two ways that Africans would have come to that area prior to 1524 but that is a whole other discussion.

[efhmc]

1. That is very interesting.

[GreatGazoo]

2. Verrazzano is great because his acounts are full of love and wonder

His account of the NY harbor contrasts strongly with those of Robert Juet who logs Henry Hudson's voyage in 1609.

Juet is afraid of everyone and not that interested in them as people. Verrazzano has seen much more of the world, is far better educated and writes as though he has been transported to the world of Avatar. Exactly the way I would want to experience that era.

[Bluestocking]

3. I wonder if Mandami is planning

To remove Verrazano’s name from the New York City bridge. Well, he was not Jewish so probably not.