The Beginning of Slavery in America

[Gene C]

The colonist John Rolfe wrote to Sir Edwin Sandys, of the Virginia Company, that in August 1619, a “Dutch man of war” arrived in the colony and “brought not anything but 20 and odd Negroes, which the governor and cape merchant bought for victuals.” (Source: New York Times, August 20, 2019.)

noun
plural noun: victuals
1. food or provisions.
"turkey and other savory victuals were served"
synonyms: food, food and drink, fare, cooking, cuisine, sustenance, nutriment, nourishment, nutrition

They ate them?