The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History

The Royal African Company: A Corporation of Slavers

7 min · 18. juni 2026
episode The Royal African Company: A Corporation of Slavers cover

Description

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]

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123 episodes

episode The 1791 Haitian Revolution Outbreak: Bois Caïman and the First Fires artwork

The 1791 Haitian Revolution Outbreak: Bois Caïman and the First Fires

Lucas and Luna dive into the explosive opening of the Haitian Revolution, focusing on the August 1791 slave uprising in the northern plain of Saint-Domingue. They examine the secret Bois Caïman ceremony led by Boukman Dutty and the priestess Cécile Fatiman, the strategic brilliance of early rebel leaders like Jean-François and Biassou, and the French revolutionary context that made it possible. The conversation touches on the limits of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man, the role of Maroons and Vodou as organizing forces, and how the largest slave revolt in the Americas succeeded where others failed. Specifics include the parish of Acul, the city of Le Cap-Français, and the later figure of Toussaint Louverture, who emerged after the initial uprising. This episode covers the first critical months of a revolution that would reshape the Atlantic world. #HaitianRevolution #BoisCaïman #BoukmanDutty #CécileFatiman #SaintDomingue #1791 #SlaveRevolt #Vodou #LeCapFrançais #DeclarationOfTheRightsOfMan #JeanFrançois #Biassou #ToussaintLouverture #Maroons #AtlanticHistory #CaribbeanHistory #FexingoHistory #WorldHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

27. juni 202611 min
episode The Asiento: Britain's License to Traffic in Human Beings artwork

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Yesterday8 min
episode The 1713 Asiento: Britain's License to Traffic in Human Beings artwork

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In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht ended the War of the Spanish Succession and granted Britain a unique prize: the asiento, a monopoly contract to supply enslaved Africans to Spain's American colonies. This episode follows the asiento's journey from a Portuguese monopoly through Genoese, Dutch, and French hands to its final, most lucrative incarnation under the British South Sea Company. We trace the political maneuverings in Madrid and London, the staggering profits that fueled the South Sea Bubble, and the human cost calculated in the 144,000 enslaved people delivered over three decades. Meet the key figures: King Philip V, Queen Anne, the Duke of Manchester, and the company directors who turned human misery into shareholder dividends. We explore how the asiento reshaped Atlantic trade routes, entrenched slavery in Spanish America, and provided a legal cover for British smuggling. A story of imperial ambition, financial speculation, and the commodification of human life that defined the early 18th-century Atlantic world. #Asiento #TreatyOfUtrecht #SouthSeaCompany #TransatlanticSlaveTrade #BritishEmpire #SpanishEmpire #PhilipV #QueenAnne #DukeOfManchester #SlaveTradeMonopoly #1713 #WarOfSpanishSuccession #Veracruz #Cartagena #BuenosAires #AtlanticHistory #ColonialSlavery #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Yesterday11 min
episode The Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean: Forgotten Captivity artwork

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25. juni 20269 min
episode The 1696 Portuguese Slave Ship 'Santo António' and Its Captives' Revolt artwork

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25. juni 20266 min