The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in the United States, which illegally smuggled 110 Africans into Mobile Bay, Alabama, in 1860, decades after the importation of slaves was banned. They follow the journey of the ship's captain, William Foster, and the wealthy steamboat owner Timothy Meaher, who financed the voyage on a bet. The episode delves into the harrowing experience of the captives, who were from the Yoruba and other West African ethnic groups, and their subsequent lives in slavery. After emancipation, these survivors founded a unique community called Africatown, preserving their African languages, traditions, and even building a church. The narrative covers the discovery of the Clotilda's wreck in 2018, the efforts to preserve the site, and the ongoing legacy of the last survivors, including Cudjoe Lewis, who lived until 1935. Lucas and Luna discuss the legal and moral implications of the illegal trade, the resilience of the Africatown community, and what the Clotilda story reveals about the persistence of slavery after its official abolition.

#Clotilda #LastSlaveShip #Africatown #TimothyMeaher #WilliamFoster #CudjoeLewis #MobileBay #Alabama #Yoruba #SlaveTrade #IllegalSlaveTrade #ActProhibitingImportationOfSlaves #AfricanSurvivors #WreckDiscovery2018 #AmericanSlavery #MaritimeHistory #History #FexingoHistory #AtlanticSlaveTrade #MiddlePassage

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In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the fortified slave castles of the Gold Coast—Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle, and Fort Christiansborg—where millions of enslaved Africans were imprisoned before the Middle Passage. They trace the history from Portuguese arrival in 1471 through Dutch and British competition, focusing on the dungeons, the 'Door of No Return,' and the daily life of captives held in these fortresses. Lucas highlights the collaboration of African kingdoms like the Fante and Asante, the role of the Royal African Company, and the eventual abolitionist campaigns that turned these sites into symbols of memory. The conversation also touches on modern efforts at preservation and reconciliation, including the 1998 visit by President Clinton. Specific details include the 1637 Dutch capture of Elmina, the 1664 British seizure of Cape Coast, and the 1850 sale of Danish forts to Britain. Listeners will learn about the architecture of oppression and the legacy of these UNESCO World Heritage sites.

#CapeCoastCastle #ElminaCastle #GoldCoast #SlaveCastles #DoorOfNoReturn #RoyalAfricanCompany #DutchWestIndiaCompany #Asante #Fante #UNESCO #MiddlePassage #AtlanticSlaveTrade #FortChristiansborg #History #FexingoHistory #Colonialism #Abolition #Memory #Slavery #OlaudahEquiano

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This episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade podcast takes you inside the Middle Passage—the brutal sea journey that carried millions of enslaved Africans to the Americas. Lucas and Luna explore the ghastly conditions aboard slave ships, from the 'loose pack' versus 'tight pack' debate to the economics of human cargo. They discuss the infamous Brookes diagram, the Dolben Act's attempt at regulation, and the staggering mortality rates—both the averages and the outliers like the Zong massacre. The episode also touches on the psychological terror of the crossing, the rare but deadly slave ship revolts at sea, and the recent scholarship from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database that has refined our understanding of the numbers. No sugar-coating, just the harrowing facts of what it meant to be cargo in the Atlantic world.

#MiddlePassage #SlaveShip #TransAtlanticSlaveTrade #BrookesDiagram #DolbenAct #ZongMassacre #SlaveRevoltAtSea #MortalityRate #TightPack #LoosePack #HumanCargo #AtlanticHistory #AfricanDiaspora #Slavery #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast #Education #AtlanticSlaveTrade #Abolition

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In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the grassroots campaign that turned British public opinion against the slave trade. They discuss the Quaker origins of the abolition movement, the role of Thomas Clarkson’s research into the horrors of the Middle Passage, and the massive petition campaign of 1788 that gathered over 100,000 signatures. The conversation also covers William Wilberforce’s parliamentary strategy, the formation of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, and the impact of the Zong massacre trial. Lucas explains how economic arguments were countered by moral outrage, and how the 1807 Act to Abolish the Slave Trade was finally passed after decades of struggle. The episode highlights key figures like Granville Sharp, Olaudah Equiano, and James Ramsay, and touches on the role of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.

#BritishAbolition #WilliamWilberforce #ThomasClarkson #GranvilleSharp #OlaudahEquiano #JamesRamsay #SocietyForEffect #PetitionCampaign #SlaveTradeAct1807 #ZongMassacre #Quakers #Committee #MiddlePassage #Parliament #AbolitionMovement #History #FexingoHistory #HumanRights #AtlanticSlaveTrade #Slavery

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In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the final surge of the transatlantic slave trade, driven by Cuba's booming sugar industry in the 19th century. They focus on the period from 1791 to 1867, when Cuba became the world's leading sugar producer and imported over 600,000 enslaved Africans—more than any other island in the Caribbean. Lucas details the rise of the ingenio sugar mill, the brutal conditions on plantations, and the role of the Spanish colonial government in perpetuating the trade despite international abolition. Key figures include Francisco de Arango y Parreño, the Cuban planter who lobbied for free trade in slaves, and the British abolitionist David Turnbull, whose efforts to enforce anti-slave-trade treaties led to conflict. The episode also covers the clandestine 'blackbirding' voyages that continued after 1820, the coartación system of self-purchase, and the resilience of Afro-Cuban culture through cabildos de nación and Santería. The conversation ends with the end of slavery in Cuba in 1886, delayed by plantation owners' resistance.

#Cuba #SugarBoom #AtlanticSlaveTrade #FranciscoDeArango #Ingenio #CoartaciN #CabildosDeNaciN #SanterA #DavidTurnbull #Blackbirding #SlaveryInCuba #19thCentury #SpanishColonialism #Abolition #Lucum #Havana #History #FexingoHistory #MiddlePassage #Slavery

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In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Indian Ocean slave trade through the lens of Zanzibar's clove plantation economy. They discuss how Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his capital to Zanzibar in the 1840s to cultivate cloves, creating a vast demand for enslaved labor from East Africa. The episode covers the role of Tippu Tip, a notorious slave trader who sourced captives from the Congo Basin, and the impact of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, which ceded Zanzibar to Britain and led to the formal abolition of slavery there. The conversation also touches on the cruel conditions on clove plantations, the Mkunazini slave market, and the eventual end of the slave trade under Sultan Hamoud bin Mohammed.

#IndianOceanSlaveTrade #Zanzibar #SultanSaidbinSultan #TippuTip #ClovePlantations #HeligolandZanzibarTreaty #Mkunazini #StoneTown #HamoudbinMohammed #BarghashbinSaid #EastAfrica #Oman #Abolition #Slavery #19thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #SlaveTrade #AtlanticSlaveTrade #MiddlePassage

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In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the fascinating story of the Mende people of Sierra Leone and their role in the transatlantic slave trade, focusing on the 1839 Mende revolt aboard the Cuban schooner La Amistad. They trace the origins of the captives from the Mende region, the leadership of Sengbe Pieh (known as Joseph Cinqué), and the legal battle that ended in the U.S. Supreme Court. The episode also delves into the broader context of the Mende diaspora, the rice cultivation expertise that made them highly valued in the Carolinas, and the post-revolt settlement of the Mendi people in Sierra Leone, including the establishment of the Mendi Mission and the town of Bonthe. Lucas provides details on the Mende language, secret societies like the Poro and Sande, and the cultural survival of Mende traditions in the Americas.

#SengbePieh #JosephCinqu #LaAmistad #Mende #SierraLeone #TransatlanticSlaveTrade #SlaveRevolt #SupremeCourt #JohnQuincyAdams #Bonthe #MendiMission #Poro #Sande #RiceCoast #CarolinaRice #LiberatedAfricans #History #FexingoHistory #AtlanticSlaveTrade #MiddlePassage

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This episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade dives into the unique and brutal history of slavery in Brazil, the largest recipient of enslaved Africans in the Americas. Lucas and Luna explore how Portugal's colony consumed nearly 5 million captives—more than any other destination. They discuss the sugar and gold cycles, the harsh conditions in mines and mills, the maroon kingdom of Palmares, and the slow road to abolition. Key figures like Zumbi, the bandeirantes, and Princess Isabel appear, along with places like Salvador, Recife, and Minas Gerais. The conversation touches on the legacy of racial hierarchy in modern Brazil, including the myth of racial democracy and the ongoing inequality. This episode offers a focused look at a central but often overlooked chapter of the slave trade.

#BrazilianSlavery #PortugueseColonialism #TransatlanticSlaveTrade #Palmares #Zumbi #Bandereiras #SugarCycle #GoldRush #MinasGerais #Salvador #Recife #MinaCoast #Candomble #LusoBrazilian #Abolition1888 #PrincessIsabel #History #FexingoHistory #AtlanticSlaveTrade #MiddlePassage

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In August 1823, enslaved Africans on the sugar plantations of Demerara (now Guyana) rose up in one of the largest slave revolts in British colonial history. The rebellion was led by a literate enslaved cooper named Jack Gladstone and a free black deacon named Quamina, both members of the London Missionary Society chapel run by John Smith. The uprising drew on Christian ideas of deliverance and the hope that the British government had already passed emancipation orders—a false rumor that sparked the revolt. Over 10,000 enslaved people participated, but the rebellion was crushed within days. Quamina was hunted down and killed, Jack Gladstone was exiled, and John Smith was sentenced to death, though he died in prison. The revolt shocked British public opinion and accelerated the abolitionist movement, leading to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. This episode explores the complex interplay of faith, rumor, and resistance in Demerara, the brutal reprisals that followed, and the enduring legacy of those who fought for freedom.

#Demerara #JackGladstone #Quamina #JohnSmith #DemeraraRevolt #1823 #BritishGuiana #Slavery #SlaveRevolt #Abolition #SlaveryAbolitionAct #LondonMissionarySociety #Guyana #SugarPlantations #EnslavedResistance #Christianity #History #FexingoHistory #AtlanticSlaveTrade #MiddlePassage

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In Episode 15 of The Atlantic Slave Trade, Lucas and Luna explore Tacky's War, the largest slave rebellion in 18th-century British America. In 1760, an Akan-speaking slave named Tacky led a coordinated uprising across Jamaica's sugar plantations, drawing on Coromantee military culture and Obeah spiritual practices that united thousands of enslaved Africans. They examine the strategic planning under the cover of a ball, the brutal suppression by British forces and Maroon allies, and the rebellion's lasting impact: harsher slave codes, increased paranoia among planters, and a secret network of resistance that echoed into the Haitian Revolution. Lucas unpacks the role of Fante and Akan ethnic groups, the significance of the 1760 Easter timing, and the controversial execution of Tacky that turned him into a folk hero. This episode sheds light on a pivotal uprising that reshaped colonial Jamaica and the Atlantic slave system.

#TackysWar #Jamaica1760 #SlaveRebellion #Coromantee #Akan #Obeah #Maroons #BritishEmpire #SugarPlantations #AtlanticSlaveTrade #Resistance #ColonialJamaica #Fante #EasterRebellion #SlaveCodes #FolkHero #History #FexingoHistory #MiddlePassage #Slavery

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