Slaves were imported into the United States beginning in 1619. This was the year that privateer The White Lion brought 20 African slaves into Jamestown, Virginia. These were African slaves who had been taken from a Portuguese slave ship. With this event, a long cycle of forced servitude began in the colonies. One that would last over two hundred years. Slaves were in demand throughout this period due to the fact that they represented a cheaper and more plentiful source of labor than that of Europeans.