The dark history of slavery and racism in Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period
Reading time: 7 minutes
The region near Medan is famous for its Deli tobacco, and colonial planters researched how to boost tobacco production. Behind the golden age and success of Dutch research, I found enormous human casualties that built plantations in North Sumatra. Widespread racism and slavery occurred in plantations managed by colonial companies.
Slavers in the family: what a castle in Accra reveals about Ghana’s history
Reading time: 6 minutes
The Castle is situated on the West African coast, formerly and notoriously known as the “White Man’s Grave”. The castle’s origins can be traced to a lodge built by Swedes in 1652. Nine years later, the Danish built a fort on the site and called it Fort Christiansborg (“Christian’s Fortress”), named after the King of Denmark, Christian IV.
When France extorted Haiti – the greatest heist in history
Reading time: 7 minutes
Much of the reparations debate has revolved around whether the United States and the United Kingdom should finally compensate some of their citizens for the economic and social costs of slavery that still linger today.
But to me, there’s never been a more clear-cut case for reparations than that of Haiti.
Reckoning with slavery: What a revolt’s archives tell us about who owns the past
Reading time: 6 minutes
During the revolt, former slaves organized a government and controlled most of the colony for almost a year. The Dutch either fled altogether or holed up on a well-fortified sugar plantation near the coast. A regiment of European soldiers sent from neighboring Suriname mutinied and joined the rebels they had come to defeat. But obligated by treaties, indigenous peoples such as Carib and Arawak fought on the side of the Dutch. The revolt ended when the rebels, out of food and arms, were overpowered by enemies who had received an infusion of men and supplies from the Dutch Republic.
Slave revolt film revisits history often omitted from textbooks
Armed with machetes and pitchforks and uttering chants of “Freedom or Death,” hundreds of men and women made their way along a 26-mile route along the River Parishes of Louisiana.
The spectacle – which I witnessed in November 2019 in St. John the Baptist Parish, in the heartland of Louisiana’s sugar cane and oil industries – was a reenactment of what historians believe was the largest slave rebellion in United States history, the 1811 German Coast Uprising.
How one woman pulled off the first consumer boycott – and helped inspire the British to abolish slavery
HOW ONE WOMAN PULLED OFF THE FIRST CONSUMER BOYCOTT – AND HELPED INSPIRE THE BRITISH TO ABOLISH SLAVERY While many companies have trumpeted their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, others are beginning to face consumer pressure for not appearing to do enough. For example, some people are advocating a consumer boycott of Starbucks over an internal […]
Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom – Audiobook
RUNNING A THOUSAND MILES FOR FREEDOM – AUDIOBOOK By Ellen Craft (1826 – 1891) and William Craft (1824 – 1900) Ellen and William Craft were a married couple who escaped from slavery in 1848 when Ellen disguised herself as a white, literate man and William pretended to be an accompanying slave. This is their story of their escape to […]
The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, Volume 1 – Audiobook
THE SUPPRESSION OF THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, VOLUME 1 – AUDIOBOOK By W. E. B. Du Bois (1868 – 1963) The question of the suppression of the slave-trade is so intimately connected with the questions as to its rise, the system of American slavery, and the whole colonial policy of […]
Red Rubber: The Story of the Rubber Slave Trade on the Congo – Audiobook
RED RUBBER: THE STORY OF THE RUBBER SLAVE TRADE ON THE CONGO – AUDIOBOOK By Edmund Dene Morel (1873 – 1924) Morel explains the history and formation of the Congo Free State, owned by King Leopold II. However, Morel, a humanitarian, focuses on the atrocities commited in the Congo through the enslavement of the native population, […]
From the Caribbean to Queensland: re-examining Australia’s ‘blackbirding’ past and its roots in the global slave trade
There are moves afoot to scrub colonial businessman Benjamin Boyd’s name from the map. The owners of historic Boydtown on the NSW south coast are planning to change its name, while Ben Boyd National Park may also be renamed. Residents in North Sydney will take part in a survey to rename Ben Boyd Road, too. The reason: […]
The Two Countries That ‘Escaped’ The Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa is often recognized as the beginning of colonialism and European Imperialism. Beginning in 1884, the scramble brought most of the African continent under European control, barring two countries – Liberia and Ethiopia. However, debate continues over whether these regions truly escaped colonialism as they grapple with the same colonial legacies that […]
How the shadow of slavery still hangs over global finance
When the infamous Zong trial began in 1783, it laid bare the toxic relationship between finance and slavery. It was an unusual and distressing insurance claim – concerning a massacre of 133 captives, thrown overboard the Zong slave ship. By Philip Roscoe, University of St Andrews. The slave trade pioneered a new kind of finance, secured on […]
After Caribbean Slavery – Indentured Labour
By Richard Shrubb. The abolition of slavery by the British Empire would cause an economic crisis among Caribbean plantation owners thanks to the lack of cheap labour. Their answer was to increase the use of indentured labour, something they had been utilising since the 1600’s. This was a system whereby where people were contracted […]
How the Establishment Resisted the Abolition of Slavery – New Podcast
Historian Michael Taylor discusses the resistance of the British establishment to the ending of the slave trade. A fascinating perspective on how the abolition of slavery was viewed in Britain in the years prior to it occuring. Or you can read the full story of how Britain got the slave owners to agree to abolition […]
How Slavery Built Modern Britain – Podcast
Padraic Scanlan talks about how Britain rose to global power on the backs of enslaved workers. Modern Britain has inherited the legacies and contradictions of a liberal empire built on slavery. Modern capitalism and liberalism emphasise ‘freedom’ – for individuals and for markets – but are built on human bondage. This podcast adds to our […]
What Hamilton Got Wrong
Reading time: 6 minutes
It’s important to take historically-based art, whether a painting that condenses a battle or the acclaimed Broadway smash Hamilton: An American Musical, with a grain of salt. Rather than expecting these works to look at history through the factual lens of a primary source, they should be taken as an altered view of history designed to generate the interest of the masses.
Slavery Compensation: Who Got Paid?
With the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1837 the British Government presided over the largest transfer of wealth to individuals in history. No portion of this was paid to the people who were enslaved. Instead it went to thousands of slave owners across the globe as compensation for their loss of ‘assets’.