The 1839 La Escalera Conspiracy in Cuba

The 1839 La Escalera Conspiracy in Cuba

In 1844, Cuba's colonial authorities uncovered an alleged plot among free people of color and enslaved Africans to overthrow the plantation system. The resulting repression—known as La Escalera—unleashed a wave of torture, execution, and exile that decimated the island's Afro-Cuban leadership. Lucas and Luna explore the conspiracy's murky origins: was there a real revolt planned by the poet Plácido and the black abolitionist David Turnbull, or was it a fabricated excuse to crush resistance? They trace the transatlantic connections—from British abolitionist pressure to the slaveholding backlash—and examine the trial of the Escalera, the brutal use of the ladder as a torture device, and the legacy of this little-known episode in the long arc of Caribbean slavery. Along the way, they consider how La Escalera shaped Cuba's path to the Ten Years' War and eventual abolition. #LaEscalera #Cuba #Plácido #DavidTurnbull #Slavery #Abolition #1844 #AfroCuban #Conspiracy #TenYearsWar #AtlanticWorld #BritishAbolitionism #ColonialRepression #FreePeopleOfColor #PlantationSociety #History #FexingoHistory #CaribbeanHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1831 Christmas Rebellion: Jamaica's Largest Slave Revolt

In December 1831, tens of thousands of enslaved Jamaicans rose up in what became the largest slave rebellion in British Caribbean history. Led by Samuel Sharpe, a literate enslaved Baptist deacon, the rebellion involved coordinated strikes, burnings, and armed resistance across the western parishes of Jamaica. British forces, backed by local militias, brutally suppressed the uprising within two weeks, executing hundreds and burning churches and homes. But the rebellion—and its violent suppression—had a seismic effect on the British abolitionist movement. This episode explores the events of the Baptist War, the role of missionary Christianity in fomenting resistance, the tactical delusions of the rebels, and the legacy of Sharpe, who was hanged but later became a National Hero of Jamaica. We also examine the counterpoint of Thomas Thistlewood, a notoriously sadistic slave owner whose diary reveals the everyday horrors of Jamaican plantation life. Drawing on the latest scholarship, we ask: did the Christmas Rebellion actually accelerate emancipation? #SamuelSharpe #ChristmasRebellion #BaptistWar #Jamaica #SlaveRevolt #Abolition #1831 #MontegoBay #StJamesParish #WilloughbyCotton #MarquisofSligo #ThomasThistlewood #SecondMaroonWar #Cudjoe #BritishEmpire #Slavery #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1820s Coffee Boom and the Slave Trade's Last Gasp in Brazil

In this episode, we explore how Brazil's 19th-century coffee boom fueled a brutal resurgence of the transatlantic slave trade even as Britain pressed for abolition. We trace the rise of the Paraíba Valley coffee plantations, the illegal slave imports that continued after the 1831 Feijó Law, and the role of the African Squadron in intercepting slavers. We also meet Manoel Congo, an enslaved African who led a revolt on a coffee plantation in 1839, and examine the 1850 Eusébio de Queirós Law that finally ended Brazil's slave trade. A specific, human-scale look at the intersection of commodity capitalism and human suffering. #CoffeeBoom #BrazilSlaveTrade #ParaíbaValley #ManoelCongo #FeijóLaw #EusébioDeQueirósLaw #AfricanSquadron #SlaveRevolt #1830s #AtlanticSlaveTrade #BrazilianHistory #CoffeePlantations #IllegalSlaveTrade #MiddlePassage #Resistance #Abolition #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1820 Treaty That Made the Slave Trade Piracy

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1820 Treaty of London, in which the United States and Britain agreed to treat the international slave trade as piracy—a crime punishable by death. They trace the diplomatic maneuvering that led to this landmark agreement, the role of President James Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and the British push for mutual search rights at sea. The conversation examines how the treaty was enforced, including the creation of the U.S. Africa Squadron and the mixed commission courts in Sierra Leone and elsewhere. But Lucas also unpacks the treaty's limits: it only applied to the ocean, not to the domestic slave trade within the U.S., and it did little to stop illegal slavers who ran faster ships or used false flags. The episode highlights the careers of naval officers like Captain Matthew C. Perry and the cat-and-mouse game between the squadron and slavers. It also touches on the ironic fact that while the U.S. and Britain declared the trade piracy, neither nation would free the enslaved people rescued from captured ships—they were often turned over to local colonial authorities. A nuanced look at a forgotten diplomatic milestone that was both a moral victory and a practical failure. #SlaveTrade #TreatyOfLondon1820 #Piracy #JohnQuincyAdams #JamesMonroe #AfricaSquadron #MixedCommissionCourts #MatthewPerry #SierraLeone #RoyalNavy #Abolition #19thCentury #AtlanticWorld #Diplomacy #MaritimeHistory #IllegalSlaveTrade #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Secret Lives of Slave Ship Captains

Behind every cargo of enslaved Africans stood a captain — part merchant, part navigator, part brutal enforcer. In this episode, Lucas and Luna peel back the logbooks to explore the men who commanded the Middle Passage: their training, their daily routines, their profit margins, and the psychological toll of overseeing human cargo. They examine the career of Captain John Newton, the former slave trader who later became an abolitionist and wrote 'Amazing Grace,' and contrast him with lesser-known figures like Captain James Fraser, who kept meticulous records of mortality and discipline. The conversation covers the hierarchy aboard a slaver — from captain to surgeon to first mate — and how risk was distributed across investors, insurers, and the crew. They also touch on the infamous Zong massacre, where a captain justified throwing 132 enslaved people overboard to collect insurance, and the legal and moral debates that followed. This episode offers a granular look at the men who ran the slave trade, not as monsters or saints, but as products of a brutal economic system that devalued human life. #SlaveShipCaptains #MiddlePassage #JohnNewton #AmazingGrace #ZongMassacre #JamesFraser #LloydsCoffeeHouse #RoyalAfricanCompany #SlaveTrade #18thCenturyMaritime #CaptainLogbooks #Abolition #BritishEmpire #AtlanticHistory #MaritimeHistory #History #FexingoHistory #Slavery Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]