Saturday, December 9, 2023

The Slave Trade: Slave Ship Voyages to the West Indies

Before the Middle Passage to the West Indies, the typical slave ship spent up to a year off the coast of Africa collecting slaves. A...

Slave Ship Captains of the Atlantic Slave Trade

Who were the men who commanded the slave ships on the Middle Passage and what exactly did they do? On the slave ship, the captain...

USS MAINE Explosion in Havana in 1898: The Other Theory

There are a few theories about why the USS MAINE exploded in the Havana Harbor in the late 19th century. Including one that no...

Early Caribbean Slave Revolts, Rebellions, and Conspiracies

Caribbean slave owners kept careful watch for suspected slave rebellions and thwarted most very quickly, but the Coromantees and Maroons kept trying. The Caribbean islands...

A Brief History of the Caribbean Region

Traces the development of the region from discovery by Christopher Columbus to independence of the nations from Colonial rule. Examines the impact the varying...

Economics of 16th-19th Century Pirate Recruitment on the Seas

Piracy has been in the news lately because of the problem it has generted in Somolia, but lets look at the motivations of young...

A Slave Narrative: Job Ben Solomon or Ayuba Sulaiman Ibrahim

One of many to make the Middle Passage as a slave, Job Ben Solomon was one of the few to make a return trip...

Pre-Columbian Caribbean Life: The Taíno

Taíno is an ethnohistoric term used to describe certain tribes in the Virgin Islands and Greater Antilles between 1200-1500 AD. They are distinguished from...

John Newton: Sailor to Slave Ship Captain

The man who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace" led a colorful life before penning his famous hymn lyrics. Perhaps the best-known slave-ship captain in history...

Hawkins and Drake’s Accidental Voyage to San Juan de Ulúa

Before becoming privateers for Queen Elizabeth, slave traders Hawkins and Drake took a detour to San Juan de Ulúa. The greed of John Hawkins and...