The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History
History
About
The Atlantic slave trade was not a single enterprise but a centuries-long, globe-spanning system that transformed economies, cultures, and human lives across Africa, the Americas, and Europe. This show examines the trade from its 15th-century origins under Portuguese and Spanish colonization through its peak in the 18th century and its eventual abolition in the 19th century. Lucas and Luna guide listeners through the brutal Middle Passage, the rise of plantation economies in Brazil, the Caribbean, and the southern United States, and the resistance and resilience of enslaved Africans. We explore key figures such as Olaudah Equiano, whose autobiography exposed the trade's horrors; Zumbi dos Palmares, leader of a Brazilian maroon community; and British abolitionists like William Wilberforce. We also confront the trade's enduring legacies: the racism that justified it, the wealth it created for European empires, and the ongoing debates over reparations and memory. This is a history of suffering, but also of survival, rebellion, and the long struggle for freedom. How do we remember an empire built on human suffering—and what does that mean for today? #AtlanticSlaveTrade #MiddlePassage #Slavery #Abolition #OlaudahEquiano #ZumbiDosPalmares #WilliamWilberforce #BrazilianHistory #CaribbeanHistory #AfricanHistory #Colonialism #PlantationEconomy #Reparations #Resistance #FexingoHistory #WorldHistory #History #Podcast Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atlantic-slave-trade-empire-built-on-human-suffering-fexingo-history--6985283/support .
Episodes
- The Creole Rebellion: 1841 Slave Ship Mutiny and British-American Tensions — Fexingo History
This episode discusses the 1841 Creole rebellion, a slave ship mutiny led by Madison Washington. It covers the event, its legal and diplomatic aftermath in the Bahamas, and the resulting tensions between the United States and Britain over…
- The 1831 Baptist War: Jamaica's Largest Slave Rebellion — Fexingo History
This episode examines the 1831 Baptist War, Jamaica's largest slave rebellion, led by Samuel Sharpe. It discusses the rebellion's events, Sharpe's vision, and its role in hastening the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. The episode also explores…
- The Amistad Rebellion: Mende Captives in the Atlantic — Fexingo History
This episode recounts the 1839 Amistad Rebellion, focusing on the Mende captives led by Sengbe Pieh. It details their revolt, the legal arguments that reached the Supreme Court, and their eventual return to Africa, highlighting John Quincy…
- The 1712 New York Slave Revolt: Blood in the Streets — Fexingo History
This episode explores the 1712 New York Slave Revolt, focusing on the event itself, its brutal aftermath, and the conditions in colonial New York. It discusses the leaders of the conspiracy, the legal crackdown that followed, and the rebel…
- The Havana Slave Trade Conspiracy of 1844: La Escalera — Fexingo History
The 1844 Escalera conspiracy in Cuba, amidst a sugar boom, resulted in widespread executions and imprisonment of Black Cubans based on suspicions of an uprising. The episode examines the roles of British abolitionists, Cuban planters, and…
- The Slave Trade in the Bight of Biafra: Igbo and Ibibio Captives — Fexingo History
This episode delves into the slave trade in the Bight of Biafra, featuring the Igbo and Ibibio peoples. It examines the influence of the Aro Confederacy, the Long Juju oracle, and the Ekpe society, alongside the ports of Bonny and Old Cala…
- The Slave Trade in Mozambique: Portuguese and Prazeiros — Fexingo History
This episode examines the vast slave trade in Mozambique, focusing on Portuguese prazos and the role of the Prazeiros. It covers the impact of the Gaza Empire, connections to the Indian Ocean trade, and the lasting effects on Mozambique.
- The Slave Trade in the Bight of Benin: The Kingdom of Dahomey's War Economy — Fexingo History
This episode examines the Kingdom of Dahomey's transformation into a militaristic empire fueled by the slave trade, detailing its internal politics, the role of the Agojie, King Ghezo's wealth from European firearms, and its complex relati…
- The Slave Trade in the Bight of Biafra: Igbo and Ibibio Captives — Fexingo History
This episode details the Bight of Biafra
- On the Coast of Benin: The Slave Trade's Rise and Fall in Ouidah — Fexingo History
This episode examines Ouidah, Benin, a major slave trading post. It covers the Kingdom of Dahomey's transformation, key figures like King Agaja and King Ghezo, and the eventual decline of the slave trade, transitioning to palm oil.
- The Maroons of Jamaica: Freedom Fighters in the Mountains — Fexingo History
This episode examines the history of the Maroons in Jamaica, focusing on their origins, resistance against British colonial forces, and the First Maroon War. It also explores the impact of historical peace treaties and the enduring legacy…
- The Illegal Slave Trade After 1808: Smugglers and the African Squadron — Fexingo History
The episode discusses the illegal slave trade that continued for 50 years after the 1808 ban, focusing on smugglers, the British West Africa Squadron's efforts and mixed record, and the Mixed Commissions that freed approximately 80,000 Afr…
- The Clotilda and the Last Slave Ship to America — Fexingo History
This episode details the Clotilda, the final slave ship to arrive in the US in 1860, illegally transporting 110 Africans. It covers the journey, the captives' experiences, the founding of Africatown, the ship's wreck discovery, and the end…
- The Slave Forts of the Gold Coast: Castles of No Return — Fexingo History
This episode details the history of slave castles on the Gold Coast, such as Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle, focusing on their role in imprisoning Africans before the Middle Passage. It covers their architectural history, the involvem…
- The Middle Passage: Inside the Atlantic Slave Trade's Horrific Journey — Fexingo History
This Fexingo History episode details the Middle Passage, the horrific journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. It covers ship conditions, mortality rates like the Zong massacre, and revolts, using data from the Trans-Atlantic Slav…
- The British Abolition Movement: Parliament, Petitions, and the People — Fexingo History
This episode details the British abolition movement, covering its Quaker roots, Thomas Clarkson's research on the Middle Passage, a large 1788 petition campaign, and William Wilberforce's parliamentary strategy. It discusses the Zong massa…
- Cuba's Sugar Boom: The Last Wave of the Atlantic Slave Trade — Fexingo History
This episode details Cuba's 19th-century sugar boom, which fueled the final surge of the Atlantic slave trade, importing over 600,000 Africans. It covers plantation life, Spanish policies, abolitionist efforts, and the resilience of Afro-C…
- The Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean: Zanzibar and the Clove Empire — Fexingo History
This episode details the Indian Ocean slave trade focusing on Zanzibar, Sultan Said bin Sultan's cultivation of cloves using enslaved East African labor, and the impact of figures like Tippu Tip. It also discusses the Heligoland-Zanzibar T…
- The Sengbe Pieh Mende Revolt: Sierra Leone's Liberated Africans — Fexingo History
This episode details the 1839 Mende revolt on the La Amistad, led by Sengbe Pieh. It covers the captives' origins in Sierra Leone, the legal case, the Mende diaspora, and the cultural survival of Mende traditions.
- The Slave Trade in Brazil: Gold, Sugar and Human Cost — Fexingo History
This episode examines the unique and brutal history of slavery in Brazil, the largest destination for enslaved Africans. It covers the impacts of the sugar and gold cycles, the maroon kingdom of Palmares, and the path to abolition, discuss…
- The 1823 Demerara Slave Revolt: Faith and Freedom — Fexingo History
The 1823 Demerara Slave Revolt, involving over 10,000 enslaved people and inspired by faith and emancipation rumors, was brutally suppressed. Its aftermath, including the deaths of leaders Quamina and John Smith, fueled the abolitionist mo…
- The 1760 Jamaican Slave Revolt: Tacky's War and Its Aftermath — Fexingo History
This episode details the 1760 Tacky's War, a major slave rebellion in Jamaica led by Akan-speaking slaves using Coromantee military culture and Obeah practices. It covers the uprising's planning, brutal suppression by British forces and Ma…
- The Slave Ship Rebellion That Reshaped Atlantic Law — Fexingo History
This episode details the 1841 Creole slave ship rebellion, led by Madison Washington, which resulted in a diplomatic crisis between the US and Britain and influenced US slavery law and the Compromise of 1850.
- The Slave Trade in the Gambia: Kunta Kinte's Homeland — Fexingo History
This episode details the Gambia River's significance in the Atlantic slave trade, covering British posts like James Island, local populations and kingdoms, and the impact of the 'gun-slave cycle' on the region.
- Dahomey's Female Warriors: The Agojie of West Africa — Fexingo History
This episode discusses the Agojie, an all-female warrior corps in the Kingdom of Dahomey from the 18th century to 1894. It covers their training, weaponry, involvement in the slave trade, and resistance against French forces, critically ex…
- The Royal African Company: Monopoly and Atrocity — Fexingo History
Lucas and Luna discuss the Royal African Company, the primary English entity for transporting enslaved Africans in the 17th and 18th centuries. They examine its monopolistic practices, its role in the British slave empire, the harsh realit…
- The Slave Trade's Hidden Numbers: Voyages and Mortality — Fexingo History
This episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade examines the statistics of the slave trade, discussing the estimated 12.5 million Africans transported, mortality rates during the Middle Passage, and the varying conditions of slave ships, referenc…
- The Stono Rebellion: Carolina's Slave Revolt — Fexingo History
The Stono Rebellion in September 1739 was the largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies before the American Revolution, led by Jemmy. This episode examines the rebellion's origins in the Kongo Kingdom, the Security Act's role…
- The Slave Trade in Luanda: Angola's Fortified Factory — Fexingo History
This episode of Fexingo History focuses on the slave trade in Portuguese Angola, using Luanda as a central case study. It details the system of capture and forced migration, involving alliances with Imbangala warlords and the subjugation o…
- Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean: Zanzibar's Dark Legacy — Fexingo History
This episode of Fexingo History examines the East African slave trade centered on Zanzibar, detailing how the Omani Sultanate established it as a global hub. It covers the roles of Sultan Said bin Sultan and Tippu Tip, the harsh realities…
- The Slave Trade in East Africa: Zanzibar and the Indian Ocean — Fexingo History
This episode discusses the East African slave trade, centered on Zanzibar and the Indian Ocean. It highlights the trade network established by Omani sultans, Indian financiers, and European colonizers, the role of figures like Tippu Tip, a…
- Maroon Communities and the African Resistance to Slavery — Fexingo History
This episode explores Maroon communities, settlements of escaped enslaved Africans in the Americas. It details their resistance, cultural contributions, focusing on Palmares, Brazil, and leaders like Ganga Zumba and Zumbi.
- Zong Massacre Legal Case and Abolition — Fexingo History
This episode discusses the 1781 Zong massacre, where enslaved Africans were thrown overboard for insurance money. It covers the legal case, the involvement of key figures like Olaudah Equiano and Granville Sharp, and how the incident fuele…
- The Amistad Rebellion: Africans Who Won Their Freedom in Court — Fexingo History
The Amistad Rebellion episode recounts the 1839 revolt of 53 Africans on the schooner La Amistad. The episode details their journey, the legal battle reaching the Supreme Court, and the fight for freedom led by Sengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinqué)…
- The Haitian Revolution: Slaves Who Defeated Three Empires — Fexingo History
This episode covers the Haitian Revolution, beginning with the 1791 slave uprising in Saint-Domingue and culminating in the defeat of Napoleon's forces by 1803. It examines key figures like Toussaint Louverture, the influence of the French…
- The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History
This pilot episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering explores the origins of the slave trade, beginning with Portuguese ventures in the 15th century and the first shipment of enslaved Africans to the Americas in…