The 1843 Creole Revolt: Slave Ship Rebellion on the US Coast

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]

The 1839 Amistad Rebellion: Captives Who Won Their Freedom in Court

The 1839 Amistad rebellion was a watershed moment in the Atlantic slave trade. Fifty-three Mende captives, led by Sengbe Pieh (known as Joseph Cinqué), seized control of the schooner La Amistad off the coast of Cuba, sparking a dramatic legal battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. This episode traces the revolt from its origins in Lomboko slave pens through the harrowing Middle Passage, the mutiny itself, and the two-year legal odyssey that pitted abolitionists like John Quincy Adams against pro-slavery President Martin Van Buren. We explore the key court arguments, the role of Spanish slave traders and Cuban planters, the cultural resilience of the Mende aboard ship, and the eventual return of the survivors to Sierra Leone in 1842. Unlike other slave ship rebellions, the Amistad case turned on property rights, international treaties, and the illegal importation of slaves into Spanish colonies after the 1817 Anglo-Spanish treaty. It tested the limits of American courts and galvanized the abolitionist movement. Along the way, we meet figures like Lewis Tappan, who funded the defense, and Roger Baldwin, the lawyer who argued the captives were free men under natural law. The episode also touches on the lesser-known fate of the Mende once they reached Sierra Leone and the ongoing controversy over the case's legacy. #Amistad #AmistadRebellion #SengbePieh #JosephCinqué #JohnQuincyAdams #LewisTappan #RogerBaldwin #Mende #Lomboko #Cuba #SupremeCourt #SlaveRebellion #Abolition #1839 #MiddlePassage #SierraLeone #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

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

This episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering turns to the 1816 Barbadian slave revolt known as Bussa's Rebellion. Lucas and Luna explore the specific conditions on Barbados that made it ripe for uprising—the island's brutal plantation system, a rapidly growing enslaved majority, and the influence of contemporary abolitionist debates in Britain. They focus on the figure of Bussa, an enslaved ranger on Bayley's Plantation who became the rebellion's leader. The discussion covers the revolt's planning, its suppression by colonial militia, and its lasting impact on Barbadian law and labor. Specific details include the role of enslaved drivers and artisans, the use of cane fields as both cover and weapon, the failure of the rebellion to spread across the island, and the subsequent colonial backlash including harsher slave codes. Listeners will come away with a clear understanding of how this rebellion fit into the wider pattern of Caribbean slave resistance and its peculiarities on a small, heavily militarized island. #Bussa #Barbados #BussaRebellion #SlaveRevolt #1816 #BritishCaribbean #PlantationSlavery #BayleysPlantation #EnslavedResistance #SlaveCodes #ColonialMilitia #CaneFields #Ranger #BarbadianHistory #CaribbeanHistory #AtlanticSlaveTrade #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]