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

When enslaved Africans were brought to Jamaica by the Spanish and later the British, many escaped into the island's rugged interior. They became the Maroons—communities of runaways who forged their own society, blending African traditions with New World realities. This episode follows the rise of the Leeward and Windward Maroons, their legendary leaders like Cudjoe and Nanny, and their fierce resi...

Even after the U.S. and Britain banned the importation of enslaved Africans in 1808, the transatlantic slave trade continued for another half-century. This episode looks at the shadowy underworld of illegal slaving: the fast, specially-built Baltimore clippers that outran patrols, the bribed officials in Cuba and Brazil, and the British Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron—its small fleet, its captur...

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 e...

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 h...

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, a...

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 parlia...

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 con...

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,...

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...

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 sl...

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...

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 unde...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the little-known story of the slave ship Creole, whose 1841 revolt by 135 enslaved people led to a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Britain. Unlike the Amistad case, the Creole rebels succeeded in gaining freedom in the Bahamas under British abolitionist policy. The episode delves into the role of Madison Washington, a previously escaped slave...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the often-overlooked role of the Gambia River in the Atlantic slave trade. From the founding of James Island and Fort St. James by the British Royal African Company to the brutal slave barracoons at Juffureh and Albreda, they trace the lines of commerce that funneled captives from the Mali and Songhai empires to the coasts. They discuss the Mandinka, Wolof,...

In this episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade, Lucas and Luna explore the extraordinary story of the Agojie, the all-female warrior corps of the Kingdom of Dahomey. Often mythologized as 'Amazon's', these women were highly trained soldiers who served as the king's elite guard and shock troops from the 18th century until the French conquest in 1894. The episode covers their origins under King Houegba...

In Episode 11 of The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering, Lucas and Luna examine the Royal African Company, the English Crown-chartered monopoly that transported more enslaved Africans than any other single entity in the 17th and 18th centuries. From its founding in 1660 under King Charles II and his brother James, Duke of York, the RAC built a network of forts along the Gold Coa...

In this episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade, Lucas and Luna dive into the stark statistics behind the centuries-long trade in human beings. They explore the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, which records over 36,000 voyages, and discuss how historians estimate the total number of Africans forcibly transported — around 12.5 million people. Lucas explains the brutal reality of 'tight packing' on...

In September 1739, a group of enslaved Africans led by a man named Jemmy marched along the Stono River in South Carolina, gathering recruits and burning plantations. Their goal was Spanish Florida, where freedom awaited. The rebellion, known as the Stono Rebellion, became the largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies before the American Revolution. Lucas and Luna explore the rebellio...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna turn their focus to Portuguese Angola, the single largest source of enslaved people for the Atlantic trade. They start at Luanda Island, where in 1617 Governor Luis Mendes de Vasconcelos built a fortress that became the hub of a brutal system. Lucas explains how the Portuguese allied with the Imbangala warlords, mercenaries known for their ritual cannibalism and mil...

This episode explores the often-overlooked East African slave trade centered on Zanzibar. Lucas and Luna delve into how the Omani Sultanate transformed the island into a hub for the global trade in enslaved people, moving millions from the interior to plantations and markets across the Indian Ocean. They discuss key figures like Sultan Said bin Sultan, who shifted his capital to Zanzibar to contro...

While the Atlantic slave trade is well-known, East Africa's slave trade was equally devastating and lasted well into the late 19th century. This episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering shifts focus to the Indian Ocean and the island of Zanzibar, where Omani sultans, Indian financiers, and European colonizers built a brutal trade network. We follow the rise of Zanzibar...

While the brutality of the transatlantic slave trade is well-known, the story of those who fought back—and built new lives in defiance—is less often told. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the world of Maroons: enslaved Africans who escaped bondage and formed independent communities across the Americas. From the palenques of Colombia to the quilombos of Brazil, these settlements were bastion...

In 1781, the captain of the slave ship Zong ordered 132 enslaved Africans thrown overboard to claim insurance. This episode explores the Zong massacre, the subsequent legal battle that horrified Britain, and how the case became a rallying cry for the abolitionist movement. We cover the ship's voyage from the Gold Coast to Jamaica, the insurance dispute, the role of Olaudah Equiano, Granville Sharp...

In 1839, fifty-three Africans aboard the Cuban schooner La Amistad rose up, killed the captain, and demanded to be sailed back to Africa. Instead, they were captured off Long Island and thrust into a legal battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. This episode dives into the extraordinary story of the Amistad captives—their origins in the Mende region of Sierra Leone, the brutal Middle Passage t...

In 1791, the enslaved people of Saint-Domingue rose up in a rebellion that would become the only successful slave revolt in history. This episode traces the Haitian Revolution from its origins in Vodou ceremonies to the final defeat of Napoleon's army in 1803. We explore the role of Toussaint Louverture, the brilliant military leader who outmaneuvered French, Spanish, and British forces; the devas...