Answer:
The statement that best describes how the enslavement of African people began in the thirteen colonies is:
"The Virginia Company brought enslaved African people to Jamestown to work on the plantations."
This is historically accurate, as the arrival of enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619 marked the beginning of slavery in what would later become the thirteen American colonies. These enslaved Africans were initially treated as indentured servants, but over time, the system evolved into one of hereditary chattel slavery, where individuals and their descendants were enslaved for life.