People, Locations, Episodes

The Citadel La Ferrière is Built

*On this date in 1820, the Citadel La Ferrière was completed.  Sometimes called the Citadelle it is a mountaintop fortress in Nord, Haiti.  Haitian King Henri Christophe ordered the construction beginning in 1805; the Citadel La Ferrière is located on top of the mountain Bonnet a L’Eveque.  It is one of the largest fortresses in […]

Costa Rica Gains Independence From Spain

*The Republic of Costa Rica gained independence from Spain on this date in 1821.  The first Blacks that arrived in Costa Rica came through the middle passage with the Spanish conquistadors.  Beginning in the 15th century, the slave trade was common in all the countries conquered by Spain. Costa Rica, the first blacks, were shipped […]

Monrovia, Liberia, is Founded

*On this date, in 1822, the city of Monrovia was founded. Monrovia is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia on the Atlantic coast. Early on, the area was called Ducor. The French cartographer and slave trader Chevalier des Marchais visited Ducor and the Cape in 1723, conducted business there, and later published a […]

A Slave Revolt in South Carolina Occurs

On this date in 1822, Denmark Vesey led a slave rebellion in South Carolina.

The Whipping House (shown) was to the right of the jail, separated by a high brick wall and used against unruly slaves.

It was destroyed by an 1886 earthquake and never rebuilt.

Brazil Gains Independence From Portugal

*On this date in 1822, Brazil gained Independence from Portugal.   This episode comprised a series of political and military events from 1821–1824 involving disputes between Brazil and Portugal regarding the call for independence presented by the Brazilian Empire.  Brazil was the first destination for building Portugal’s 15th-century slavery empire from Africa.   There are more Brazilians of African descent than in any other country […]

Costa Rica Abolishes Slavery

*On this date in 1824, Costa Rica abolished slavery.

The Haitian Indemnity Ocurrs

*On this date in 1825, Haiti signed the Ordinance of King Charles X. Often called the Haiti Indemnity, this was a controversial agreement between Haiti and France where France demanded an indemnity of 150 million francs from Haiti in claims over property, including Haitian slaves. 1791, France lost colonial control of the island through the […]

Uruguay Gains Independence From Spain

*On this date, in 1825, Uruguay gained independence from Spain. Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the […]

Ellen, and William Craft, Slaves Who Escaped to Freedom

The lives of Ellen and William Craft are celebrated on this date. They were two Black abolitionists who were known for William’s autobiographical slave narrative describing the couple’s dramatic escape from slavery.

The Oneida Institute Begins Classes

*The Oneida Institute opening is celebrated on this date in 1827.  They were a short-lived (16 years) but highly influential school that was a national leader in the (then) emerging anti-slavery movement.   George Washington Gale founded it as the Oneida Institute of Science and Industry.   His former teacher (in the Addison County Grammar School, Middlebury, John Frost, now a Presbyterian minister in Whitesboro […]

The Black Bottom Community (Detroit), a story

*The Black Bottom community is celebrated on this date in 1827. This was a predominantly Black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, United States.   “Black Bottom” often references the African American community that developed in the twentieth century. Early white-French colonial settlers named the neighborhood. This area was the source of the River Savoyard, which was […]

Kentucky in Africa is Founded

*The founding of Kentucky in Africa is celebrated on this date in 1828.  This colony in present-day Montserrado County, Liberia, was settled by American freedmen, many formerly enslaved Africans. As a Kentucky state affiliate of the American Colonization Society, members raised money to transport black people from Kentucky to Africa. The Kentucky Society bought a 40-square-mile (100 […]

Shaka Zulu, Zulu Chief is Killed

*On this date in 1828, Shaka, the great Zulu King was killed. In 1815, he became the clan chief of the Zulu, the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with a population of approximately 6 million.

The Newnan Slave Cemetery, a story

*The Newnan Slave Cemetery is celebrated on this date in 1828. During the 19th century, Newnan, Georgia’s population was roughly 50 percent black, as the booming cotton trade increased the demand for labor. An 1828 map shows the burial grounds were adjacent to property owned by slave owner Andrew Berry. Excavation work was about to […]

Lynching in the United States of America, a story

*Lynching in the United States of America is affirmed on this date in 1830. Lynching was the widespread occurrence of extrajudicial killings beginning in the Pre-Civil War South until the 20th century American Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Although many of the victims of lynching in the U.S. for the first few decades of […]