The 1807 Abolition Act: Britain Outlaws the Slave Trade

The 1807 Abolition Act: Britain Outlaws the Slave Trade

In 1807, after decades of tireless campaigning by abolitionists like Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce, Britain outlawed the transatlantic slave trade. But the story behind the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act is far more complex than a simple moral triumph. This episode explores the political maneuvering, economic pressures, and grassroots activism that finally pushed Parliament to act. We delve into the role of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, the impact of the Haitian Revolution, and the infamous 1805 test vote that nearly ended the movement. Lucas and Luna also discuss the limitations of the act—it did not end slavery itself—and the Royal Navy's subsequent campaign to suppress the trade, known as the West Africa Squadron. Featuring key figures like Granville Sharp, Olaudah Equiano, and the reluctant Prime Minister Lord Grenville, this episode reveals how a coalition of Quakers, freed slaves, and political radicals achieved what many thought impossible. #AbolitionAct1807 #WilliamWilberforce #ThomasClarkson #GranvilleSharp #OlaudahEquiano #LordGrenville #SlaveTradeAct #RoyalNavy #WestAfricaSquadron #HaitianRevolution #Quakers #Abolitionism #BritishEmpire #Parliament #1800s #AtlanticSlaveTrade #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1839 L'Amistad Rebellion: Africans in a Connecticut Court

In 1839, fifty-three Africans aboard the schooner L'Amistad rebelled against their captors, sparking a legal battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. This episode explores the Mende captives' journey from Sierra Leone to a Connecticut courtroom, the role of translator James Covey, and the landmark case that pitted property rights against human liberty. Lucas and Luna discuss the abolitionist network led by Lewis Tappan, the defense arguments of Roger Baldwin, and the final decision written by Justice Joseph Story. They also touch on the legacy of the Amistad in American memory and the eventual return of the survivors to West Africa. #Amistad #LAmistad #Mende #SengbePieh #JosephCinqué #JamesCovey #LewisTappan #RogerBaldwin #JohnQuincyAdams #SupremeCourt #Abolition #SlaveTrade #1839 #Connecticut #SierraLeone #History #FexingoHistory #SlaveRebellion Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

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

In January 1811, the largest slave revolt in US history erupted along the Mississippi River in the Territory of Orleans. Led by Charles Deslondes, a mixed-race enslaved driver from Saint-Domingue, a column of several hundred men marched from plantation to plantation, gathering weapons and recruits, their destination the city of New Orleans. The uprising was crushed within two days by planters and a detachment of US troops under General Wade Hampton. The aftermath saw brutal reprisals, public decapitations, and severed heads displayed on pikes to terrorize the enslaved population. This episode explores the revolt's roots in the Haitian Revolution, the unique social structure of Louisiana's sugar coast, and the legacy of an uprising that history nearly forgot. Lucas and Luna discuss Deslondes' background, the role of Saint-Domingue refugees, and why this rebellion remains less known than others like Stono or Nat Turner's. #1811GermanCoastUprising #CharlesDeslondes #Louisiana #SlaveRevolt #HaitianRevolution #NewOrleans #TerritoryOfOrleans #WadeHampton #SugarPlantations #SaintDomingue #MississippiRiver #AndryPlantation #DestrehanPlantation #USHistory #AfricanAmericanHistory #Slavery #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Royal African Company: A Corporation of Slavers

This episode dives into the history of the Royal African Company, the English corporation that held a monopoly on the West African slave trade for decades. Lucas and Luna explore its founding in 1660 under King Charles II, its key figures like Prince Rupert and the Duke of York, and its brutal operations from fortified castles on the Gold Coast. They discuss how the company shipped enslaved Africans to English colonies in the Caribbean and North America, the 'Company of Royal Adventurers' predecessor, and the eventual loss of its monopoly in 1698. The conversation also touches on the company's financial structure, the infamous Cape Coast Castle, and the resistance of African kingdoms like the Asante. By examining this early corporate model of human trafficking, the episode reveals how state-backed commerce and private profit drove the Atlantic slave trade on an industrial scale. #RoyalAfricanCompany #CapeCoastCastle #GoldCoast #KingCharlesII #DukeOfYork #PrinceRupert #AsanteEmpire #SlaveTrade #Monopoly #EnglishColonies #Caribbean #Barbados #Virginia #CompanyOfRoyalAdventurers #17thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #AtlanticSlaveTrade Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Clotilda: Last Slave Ship and the Legacy of Africatown

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring enslaved Africans to the United States, which illegally smuggled 110 captives into Mobile, Alabama in 1860, decades after the international slave trade was banned. They trace the journey of the ship, its wealthy backer Timothy Meaher, and the captain William Foster, who burned and sank the vessel to hide evidence. The conversation focuses on the survivors who, after emancipation, founded Africatown, a self-sustaining community that preserved West African traditions. In 2018, the wreck of the Clotilda was finally identified in the Mobile River, reigniting efforts to preserve the site and tell the story of Cudjo Lewis (Kossola), one of the last known survivors whose narrative was recorded by Zora Neale Hurston. The episode examines the legal loopholes, local complicity, and the enduring cultural legacy of a community that refused to be erased. #Clotilda #LastSlaveShip #Africatown #TimothyMeaher #WilliamFoster #CudjoLewis #Kossola #ZoraNealeHurston #MobileAlabama #SlaveTradeIllegal #1860 #WestAfricanTraditions #MaritimeArchaeology #AlabamaRiver #AfricanSurvivors #BlackHistory #AmericanHistory #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]