While European slave traders were the driving force behind this brutal system, they were not the only participants. African societies also played a role in the capture, sale, and transport of enslaved people.
Buck breaking is said to have originated during the Atlantic slave trade, primarily in the Caribbean. It emerged as a means of punishment for rebellious african male slaves, intended to crush their spirits and prevent future resistance
Drapetomania was a conjectural mental illness that, in 1851, American physician Samuel A. Cartwright hypothesized as the cause of enslaved Africans fleeing captivity.
The concept of Drapetomania was proposed by Dr. Samuel A. Cartwright, an American physician, in the mid-19th...
The Kanungu cult massacre, also known as the Uganda cult massacre, remains one of the most devastating incidents of mass violence and religious extremism in modern history. This tragedy claimed the lives of over 700 followers of a religious cult known as the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God.
Doctor Caesar was an enslaved African man who made a name for himself as a gifted healer in colonial South Carolina during the mid-18th century. His expertise proved to be particularly valuable when he discovered an antidote for poisons...
George and Willie Muse were two brothers born in rural Virginia in the late 19th century. They were members of the African American community, and their family worked as sharecroppers. However, their lives took a drastic turn when they were kidnapped and forced to become part of a circus sideshow.
Sebastián Lemba was a brave and fearless leader who led a rebellion against Spanish colonial rule on the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) during the 1540s.
Anton Wilhelm Amo, was a man of Ghanaian descent who was enslaved and later given as a gift to a German prince in 1707. Despite being a slave, Anton Wilhelm Amo rose to prominence as a philosopher and made important contributions to the field.
Twin sisters Millie and Christine McKoy were conjoined twins born into slavery, who later became one of the most notable “human oddities” attractions in the world. Billed as the “Two-Headed Girl” and also the “Two-Headed Nightingale,” the sisters delighted...
The Sanchos rebellion, also known as the Easter Plot of 1802, was a significant event in the history of Virginia. It was a planned slave rebellion that was foiled before it could be executed, and it had a profound impact on the politics and society of the state.
