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First slave?

"The first enslaved Africans arrived in what is now the United States as part of the San Miguel de Gualdape colony (most likely located in the Winyah Bay area of present-day South Carolina), founded by Spanish explorer Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón in 1526" from Slavery_in_http://en.wikipedia.org/search/?title=Talk:John_Punch_(slave)&action=editthe_colonial_United_States extracted July 30, 2012

It seems doubtful that John Punch was actually the first US slave, even if Ancestory.com claims it is so --24.138.73.44 (talk) 01:07, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Agreed. The HT quote is "...it has led some historians to regard him as the first African to be legally sanctioned as a slave". So right off the bat, it's only some historians (who?), and it's from a documented legal proceeding. (Citation needed.) No doubt there were many more brought to the continent before him. Ancestry.com is in fact concluding he was legally the first US slave, saying, "All evidence gathered to date offers persuasive arguments that point to John Punch, the first African in Colonial Virginia sentenced to a lifetime of servitude—the first slave." (http://c.mfcreative.com/offer/us/obama_bunch/PDF/main_article_final.pdf) But of course, we can't just take their word for it need historians' input cited here, too. Ruodyssey (talk) 02:51, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

History is made by documents, right? He's the first documented slave. Speciate (talk) 16:57, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Conjecture at best. Another lame attempt at revisionist history. - ZandoviseZandovise (talk) 17:00, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Punch was declared a servant for life, but see John Casor, who was actually declared a slave. There is a difference. See Edmund Morgan's American Slavery, American Freedom, etc. TuckerResearch (talk) 17:17, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

And if other historians declare Casor the first slave, it is hardly unanimous that Punch was. Use of the word "some," then, is not weaselly, it is elucidating fact. I hope my improvements to the article make everything better. TuckerResearch (talk) 17:56, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Obama link

Until this has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, the wording should be very careful indeed. hgilbert (talk) 12:22, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

Since you are concerned about being careful, I've replaced the second mention of Ancestry.com so people know where this comes from. So they don't think it comes from a peer-reviewed journal. (And I doubt we'll ever get that.) Also, since you're concerned about wording, I restored the original wording. The wording you had implied that they ran a yDNA test on a Dunham, found some African ancestry, then connected him to Punch via standard genealogical research. Instead, they connected the Dunhams to the Bunches via standard genealogical research, then ran yDNA on male Bunch descendants (they can't run yDNA on Dunham's line), found African ancestry, and then made a genealogical/historical guess that connected Bunch to Punch. TuckerResearch (talk) 20:48, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

It would be good to clarify exactly that in the article, especially the "guess" part. hgilbert (talk) 21:30, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

The "guess" is the same thing that historians do all the time, I don't think it's a giant leap. I should have said "supposition" instead. I think the word "probably" in the article adds enough doubt. TuckerResearch (talk) 21:33, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

Not all the time; historians are careful to distinguish between well-supported links, as in the latter generations of the Bunch family, and guesswork. We should be equally careful here. hgilbert (talk) 21:35, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

I changed "guesswork" to "supposition." The link Ancestry.com made is a solid one, one based on the best genealogical, historical, and genetic evidence available. Using "guess" or "guesswork" makes it seem as if they made the suggestion half-cocked, when in fact, they made a good link based on logic and evidence. The only way it could be more sure is a birth certificate or a will, both of which aren't there (and even then, illegitimacy could again destroy such a link... there's no such thing as a 100% solid fact in history). TuckerResearch (talk) 21:44, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

African American?

How can he be "African American" if the USA didn't exist at the time? Surely "African" is more correct and appropriate?--ukexpat (talk) 16:06, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

Africa and America are continents, both of which existed at the time. hgilbert (talk) 17:21, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

I'm going to have to agree with ukexpat - calling him 'African-American' seems wildly anachronistic to me. It's like referring to Montezuma II as 'Mexican' before Mexico as we know it existed. There was no United States of America at the time, so he couldn't have been 'American'. I'm going to change it to simply 'Black', which is presumably what is meant here. Robofish (talk) 18:58, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

I just changed the link to black. We could of course unlink it completely.--ukexpat (talk) 20:33, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

3O John Punch Slave or not

This section was added to seek a third opinion on the status of John Punch after his sentencing in 1640. Scoobydunk says that John Punch was made a slave as the result of his court case in 1640. WLRoss says that John Punch's contract as an indentured servant was extended and therefore he was not a slave. Please see the following talk pages and discussions regarding John Punch for more information:

23:13, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

Here are the sources I've found of historians describing how John Punch became a slave as the result of his trial in 1640.

• "Punch, in effect, became a slave under this ruling." Toppin, Edgar (2010). The Black American in United States History.
• "Thus, the black man, John Punch, became a slave unlike the two white indentured servants who merely had to serve a longer term. This was the first known case in Virginia involving slavery." Edgar A. Toppin, A Biographical History of Blacks in America Since 1528.
• "John Punch's status was changed from an indentured servant to a slave," resulting from his court case. Henry Robert Burke. "Links To The Past".
• 1640, Punch was the "first documented slave for life." http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/african-americans-at-jamestown.htm
• In regarding Punch "...'the third,being a negro,' was reduced from his former condition of servitude for a limited time to a condition of slavery for life."John Henderson Russell. "The Free Negro In Virginia, 1619-1865". p.30.
• "The third, 'being a negro named John Punch shall serve his master or his assigns for the time of his natural Life here or elsewhere.' This case , antedating that of John Casor by four years, made a Negro a slave for life as a penalty for the crime of running away." Virginia Writers' Project, "The Negro in Verginia". p.14
• "Thus, although he committed the same crime as the Dutchman and the Scotsman, John Punch, a black man, was sentenced to lifetime slavery." A. Leon Higginbotham. "In the Matter of Color: Race and the American Legal Process: The Colonial Period.
• "July 9, 1640 - A Virginia court decision describes three runaway servants—two white and one black—who were captured in Maryland. The two white servants are sentenced to additional years of service. The black man, John Punch, is made a slave for life, possibly marking the first legal distinction between Europeans and Africans in Virginia's courts." Tom Costa, http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Runaway_Slaves_and_Servants_in_Colonial_Virginia#contrib

My sources clearly explain how John Punch was sentenced to slavery and became a slave. WLRoss argues that Punch wasn't a slave and remained an indentured servant. I'm sure he'll list all of his sources indicating that below.Scoobydunk (talk) 09:21, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

The sources you posted are irrelevant, please provide sources that Punch was a legally recognized slave. That some people consider indentured servitude slavery is not the argument. Also, please do not speak on my behalf, that is a violation of WP:NPA. Wayne (talk) 12:32, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

The sources I listed are completely relevant because they all confirm that John Punch became a slave as the result of his trial. "That some people consider indentured servitude slavery is not the argmunt," it is, because you just argued that Punch didn't become a slave and remained an indentured servant and implied all of the sources and historians I listed are wrong. So where are your reliable sources for that assertion?Scoobydunk (talk) 16:44, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

Third Opinion

Well, I found my way here after one of you requested a third opinion. At this point, I've spent about forty minutes reading through the article and your discussions, so I feel like I have a halfway decent grasp of the issue although I might well be missing chunks.

Let me summarize my initial reactions here so that you can critique them.

1. The article in its current state seems pretty well-researched and well-written. I haven't looked much at the history, so I really don't know which of you is most responsible for this version.
2. You've been having a pretty massive and uncivil disagreement, but on a cursory inspection neither one of you seems unambiguously in the right.
3. The core issue seems to be whether to characterize Punch after his 1640 trial as (a) an indentured servant punished with life servitude, (b) effectively a slave, or (c) a slave without qualification.
4. Pretty much all the sources that have been quoted lean towards using the term slavery rather than indentured servitude, which is most compatible with characterizations (b) and (c).

Let me know if this seems accurate to you. To be honest, I have very little idea whether this will please zero, one, or both of you. —Neil 21:21, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for taking the time to provide a third opinion. I don't think (b) is an accurate way to characterize the issue because that was a misrepresentation of a single quote from Toppin and I found an additional source from Toppin where he distinctively qualifies Punch as a slave and even says this was the first case in Virginia involving slavery. I also feel (b) would be a completely different discussion about what qualifies as "slavery". thus requiring it's own dispute resolution. Regardless of how people may want to personally define slavery, I'll just stick to what historians and reliable sources say. Understanding that, the issue largely comes down to whether John Punch became a slave or not. I've provided numerous sources using specific language describing John Punch as a slave as the result of this ruling. No reliable sources have been quoted or cited contesting this view held by historians or asserting that Punch wasn't a slave but was still an indentured servant, and the opposing view seems to stem entirely from original research, which is against WP:OR. I appreciate your opinion, though I do find it to be a little noncommittal. Scoobydunk (talk) 22:34, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

You are misrepresenting the sources. None of them say he was the first "legally recognized" slave. Calling indentured servitude a type of slavery is irrelevant. Wayne (talk) 10:07, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

I am not misrepresenting the sources, they speak for themselves. Historians clearly consider this case as the first time a negro was sentenced to slavery in Virginia. The court legally recognized that John Punch was to serve Hugh Gwyn for the remainder of his life. Historians call this "slavery" and therefore the court legally recognized slavery. Again, indentured servitude isn't slavery and these sources, for the most part, clearly explain how Punch WAS an indentured servant and then BECAME a slave due to this legal ruling, which is a legal recognition. They don't have to say "legally recognized" for it to be a legal recognition. It's a legal recognition because it was a sentence officially and legally determined by the court, and is therefore recognized by the court. Again, you try to dismiss these sources as equating indentured servitude to slavery, and they are not. They are making a clear distinction between the two and explain how Punch was once and indentured servant and then became a slave. I've yet to see your sources advocating that Punch remained an indentured servant after his court case. Where are they? Oh, here are some more sources of my own.

• "Thus, John Punch became the first African to be a slave for life, by law, in Virginia." Encyclopedia of African American History Volume 3.
• "John Punch decision therefore, did not just establish and set the legal basis for slavery in America, it was the first racial decision in America." Amechi Okolo, Ph.D. "The State of the American Mind: Stupor and Pathetic Docility."
• A year later, in the case of John Punch, the General Court of Virginia recorded the first unambiguous example of the enslavement of an individual Negro, as punishment for having run away." Francis Adams, Barry Sanders, "Alienable Rights: The Exculsion of African Americans in a White Man's Land, 1619-2000."

All of these confirm that Punch was legally recognized as a slave "by law", emphasizes the importance of the decision in establishing the basis for slavery in America, or explains that this was the first unambiguous example of enslavement of a Negro, as punishment for running away. I also want to point out that another editor agrees that the sources agree with the notion that John Punch became a slave as the result of his trial.Scoobydunk (talk) 14:19, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

Okay, I have a feeling you've both been over this ground many times before. Since both of you seemed relatively satisfied with my initial findings, I'm going to go ahead and give my opinion on how to describe Punch after his trial.

1. Scoobydunk, you've provided a significant number of reliable sources that suggest than the historical consensus considers Punch a slave. I would remind you that quality trumps quantity, because some of them are fairly weak: for example, Okolo's The State of the American Mind is self-published and Russell's The Free Negro in Virginia is a doctoral dissertation from 1913. However, others, like Toppin (2010), Higginbotham (1980), and Costa (2011) are very strong, so I think you've made a very credible point.
2. Wayne, you can certainly try to rebut this and prove that some historians consider Punch an indentured servant for life. But you'd have to advance some reliable sources to support that, and I don't think I've seen you do that. You might think the historians Scoobydunk cites are wrong; you might even be right about that. But on Misplaced Pages, that's original research and that doesn't fly.
3. However, even if Scoobydunk's sources accurately represent the historical consensus, this issue of slavery versus indentured servitude isn't completely clear cut, and historians can only make educated conjectures about what, exactly, the Governor's Council intended Punch's status to be. So it seems very sensible to say that Punch was effectively a slave. Toppin (2010) does exactly that.

Here's an example of wording that seems fair to me:

This case marks one of the first cases in colonial America where a racial distinction was made between black and white indentured servants. Most historians believe that the ruling effectively made Punch a slave, and consider the episode a milestone in the development of African American slavery in the United States. Edgar Toppin wrote...

Let me know what you think. —Neil 15:41, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

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