The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering – Episode 100

Bussa's Rebellion: Barbados 1816 and the Fight for Freedom

When news of the failed abolition bill in Britain reached Barbados in 1816, the island's enslaved population rose in the largest slave revolt in Barbadian history. This episode explores the Bussa Rebellion — a meticulously planned uprising led by an enslaved ranger named Bussa, whose name echoes in Barbadian national memory but whose life remains frustratingly obscure. We trace the conspiracy through sugar plantations across the parish of St. Philip, the role of enslaved drivers and artisans, the brutal suppression by local militia and British troops, and the aftermath that reshaped colonial policy. Along the way, we discuss the myth and reality of Bussa himself, the coded communication networks enslaved people used, and the ways this rebellion is remembered today — from the Emancipation Statue in Bridgetown to debates about who actually led it. A story of courage, tragedy, and the long arc of resistance. #Bussa #Barbados #BussaRebellion #SlaveRevolt #1816 #StPhilipBarbados #EmancipationStatue #CaribbeanHistory #SugarPlantations #BritishEmpire #Abolition #SlaveResistance #WestIndianHistory #ColonialBarbados #Bridgetown #History #FexingoHistory #AtlanticSlaveTrade Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1761 Slave Revolt on the Schooner Sandwich: Jamaica's Christmas Uprising That Never Was

In 1761, a planned slave revolt across Jamaica's parishes was betrayed before it could begin. This episode follows the conspiracy through the testimonies of Tacky, a Coromantee leader, and his network of enslaved and free black conspirators. We examine the role of African 'nations' in organizing resistance, the brutal punishment of 400 rebels, and the lasting impact on Jamaican slave laws. Why did this uprising, uncovered before it could strike, nonetheless terrify the planter class? And what does it tell us about the limits of colonial control? #History #FexingoHistory #Jamaica #1761 #Tacky #Coromantee #SlaveRevolt #Sandwich #ChristmasConspiracy #JamaicanSlaveLaws #AfricanNations #Marronage #PlanterClass #ColonialJamaica #WestIndies #SlaveResistance #BritishEmpire #EighteenthCentury Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1791 Haitian Revolution Begins: Vodou Ceremony at Bois Caïman

This episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering steps back from the well-known revolts of the 19th century to explore the opening act of the Haitian Revolution — the only successful slave revolt in history to create an independent nation. We focus on the August 1791 ceremony at Bois Caïman, where enslaved leader Dutty Boukman, a Vodou priest from Jamaica, and Cécile Fatiman, a mambo, gathered hundreds of rebels in the northern hills of Saint-Domingue. The episode examines the religious fusion of Vodou, the political context of the French Revolution, and the brutal conditions on the island's sugar plantations, where half a million enslaved people outnumbered whites ten to one. Lucas and Luna discuss Boukman's alleged prayer, the role of the maroon leader François Mackandal decades earlier, and how the uprising that began with the destruction of 1,800 plantations within weeks transformed into a thirteen-year war. We also consider the lasting debate over whether Bois Caïman was a literal event or a foundational myth — and why that question matters for understanding Haitian national identity. #HaitianRevolution #BoisCaïman #DuttyBoukman #CécileFatiman #Vodou #SaintDomingue #Slavery #SlaveRevolt #FrenchRevolution #CaribbeanHistory #ToussaintLouverture #Mackandal #Maroons #SugarPlantations #WorldHistory #BlackHistory #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Galley Slave Who Forged a Rebel Army: Benkos Biohó's War

Before Toussaint, before Nat Turner, an African prince turned galley slave named Benkos Biohó led the most durable maroon rebellion in the Americas. In the early 1600s, he escaped a slave ship in the Caribbean port of Cartagena de Indias, fled into the impenetrable mangrove swamps of the Darién Gap, and built a fortress community called San Basilio de Palenque. Biohó trained his fighters in guerrilla tactics honed by the Mande warrior traditions of West Africa, raided Spanish supply routes, and even negotiated a peace treaty that recognized his community's freedom — a treaty Spain later betrayed. This episode explores how Biohó's War, the Palenque de la Matuna, and the legacy of the cimarrones shaped Colombia's hidden history of Black resistance. We'll follow his military campaigns, the internal politics of the palenque, and the final betrayal that led to his execution, but also how his name lived on and how San Basilio de Palenque still exists today. #BenkosBiohó #PalenqueDeLaMatuna #CartagenaDeIndias #SanBasilioDePalenque #Maroons #Cimarrones #SlaveRevolt #Colombia #NewGranada #AfricanDiaspora #GuerrillaWarfare #Mande #AtlanticSlaveTrade #History #FexingoHistory #Resistance #GalleySlave #17thCentury Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1787 British Settlement of Sierra Leone

In 1787, a small fleet of ships carrying hundreds of Black Loyalists, poor whites, and freed slaves from London set sail for West Africa. Their destination: a stretch of coast the British called the 'Province of Freedom,' later known as Sierra Leone. This episode tells the story of that first settlement — the unlikely coalition of abolitionists, the brutal conditions that nearly destroyed it, and the resilience of the Black settlers who survived starvation, disease, and attacks. We follow the journey of Thomas Peters, a Black Loyalist veteran who led a delegation to London demanding land and rights. We examine the role of Granville Sharp and the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor, and the clash between abolitionist ideals and colonial realities. The settlement's early collapse and its rebirth under the Sierra Leone Company in 1791 set the stage for one of the most ambitious experiments in African self-governance. Names, dates, and details drawn from contemporary accounts and recent scholarship. #SierraLeone #BlackLoyalists #GranvilleSharp #ThomasPeters #ProvinceofFreedom #Abolition #NovaScotia #1787 #Freetown #SlaveTrade #BritishEmpire #BlackPoor #AfricanHistory #Colonialism #FexingoHistory #HistoryPodcast #WorldHistory #18thCentury Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]