The 1816 Barbados Slave Revolt: Bussa's Rebellion in the British Caribbean

The Middle Passage: Life and Death in the Slave Ship Hold

This episode of Fexingo History takes you inside the brutal reality of the Middle Passage—the journey that carried millions of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. We focus on the human experience within the slave ship hold: the stench, the disease, the suffocating heat, and the constant threat of rebellion. Lucas and Luna explore the design of slave ships, the infamous Brookes diagram, mortality rates, and the psychological terror of the crossing. We also look at resistance—from shipboard mutinies to suicide—and how enslaved people fought back even in the most hopeless conditions. The conversation touches on specific vessels like the Zong and the Brookes, the factors that determined survival, and the shift in mortality as the trade became more systematized. No political or economic overview here; this is about the lived experience of the millions who were forced to make that crossing. A raw, necessary look at one of history's greatest horrors. #MiddlePassage #SlaveShip #BritishSlaveTrade #RoyalAfricanCompany #BrookesDiagram #ZongMassacre #OlaudahEquiano #JamesFieldStanfield #SlaveTrade #AfricanDiaspora #Abolition #18thCentury #19thCentury #AtlanticHistory #MaritimeHistory #HumanRights #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1693 Cartagena Slave Revolt: Palenque Liberty in New Granada

In 1693, a carefully planned uprising by enslaved Africans in Cartagena de Indias shook the Spanish colonial port and led to the creation of one of the most successful maroon communities in the Americas: San Basilio de Palenque. This episode unpacks the revolt itself—how leaders like Benkos Biohó organized hundreds of escapees across the swamps and forests of what is now Colombia—and the complex peace treaty that granted them freedom in exchange for ending attacks on Spanish settlements. We explore the role of Kongo and West Central African cultural traditions in palenque life, the politics of colonial negotiation, and how the community survives today as a UNESCO-recognized symbol of resistance. Along the way, we look at the asiento system that flooded Cartagena with captives, the brutal labor on gold mines and sugar plantations, and the surprising legal status of palenques under Spanish law. This is a story not just of rebellion but of a viable free society carved from the slave trade's heart. #CartagenaDeIndias #BenkosBioho #SanBasiliodPalenque #SlaveRevolt #Maroons #Palenque #NewGranada #KongoDiaspora #SpanishColonial #Asiento #GoldMines #UNESCO #Resistance #17thCentury #AtlanticSlaveTrade #Colombia #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1832 Mutiny of the Robert and the Slave Trade in Cuba

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1832 slave ship mutiny aboard the Robert, a Spanish schooner carrying over 200 enslaved Africans from the Congo to Cuba. They discuss the clandestine slave trade after abolition treaties, the role of Cuban sugar plantations, the mutineers' capture by the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron, and the legal limbo of liberated Africans in Sierra Leone. The episode also touches on the broader context of the illegal slave trade in the 19th century, the Mixed Commission courts, and the human cost of the trade. Listeners will learn about figures like Captain Richard Owen, the British commodore who intercepted the ship, and the fate of the mutineers, who were tried but later freed. The conversation highlights the resilience of enslaved people and the ongoing struggle for freedom on the high seas. #Cuba #SlaveTrade #Mutiny #1832 #Robert #Congo #WestAfricaSquadron #SierraLeone #MixedCommission #RichardOwen #SugarPlantations #IllegalSlaveTrade #Abolition #RoyalNavy #LiberatedAfricans #Freetown #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1811 German Coast Uprising: Louisiana's Largest Slave Revolt

In January 1811, along the Mississippi River in the Territory of Orleans, dozens of enslaved men rose up in what would become the largest slave revolt in American history. Led by Charles Deslondes, a mixed-race enslaved driver from Saint-Domingue, and joined by others like Kook and Quamana, the rebels marched from the German Coast toward New Orleans, gathering recruits and burning plantations. The uprising was crushed within two days by a militia led by General Wade Hampton, and the brutal reprisals that followed—decapitated heads displayed on pikes—sent a chilling message. This episode explores the revolt's origins, the role of Saint-Domingue refugees, the tangled legacy of Charles Deslondes, and why this rebellion remains lesser-known than Nat Turner's. We also examine how the territory's Spanish and French legal traditions shaped slavery in Louisiana, and how the revolt influenced later slave codes. #GermanCoastUprising #CharlesDeslondes #Louisiana #SlaveRevolt #1811 #SaintDomingue #NewOrleans #MississippiRiver #WadeHampton #Kook #Quamana #TerritoryOfOrleans #SlaveCodes #HaitianRevolution #AtlanticHistory #Slavery #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1723 Elizabeth Mutiny: An Atlantic Slave Revolt Aborted

In 1723, the slave ship Elizabeth left the Gold Coast for Barbados with a cargo of over 200 captives, mostly Coromantee from the Akan region. Twenty-three men led a carefully planned revolt, armed with shackles and determination, but internal betrayal and brutal countermeasures crushed it. This episode follows the arc of the mutiny from its origins in the African interior through the Atlantic crossing and into the English courts where the surviving rebels faced trial. We examine the Coromantee reputation for resistance, the role of captives from the Asante-Fante wars, and how the Royal African Court in London adjudicated maritime insurrection. Drawing on trial records and ship logs, we reconstruct the desperate hours aboard the Elizabeth and trace the aftermath for those who survived the voyage. A story of courage, betrayal, and the legal machinery that sustained the slave trade. #ElizabethMutiny #Coromantee #Akan #SlaveRevolt #1723 #GoldCoast #Barbados #RoyalAfricanCourt #Asante #Fante #MiddlePassage #SlaveShip #AtlanticHistory #Resistance #MaritimeLaw #History #FexingoHistory #WorldHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]