People, Locations, Episodes

The 1663 Slave Revolt in Gloucester County, Virginia, Occurs

On this date in 1663, the first known slave revolt occurred in Gloucester County, VA. The conspiracy between Black slaves and indentured servants was betrayed by the indentured servants.

Bunce Island, Slave Trade Facility Opens

*Bance Island, Sierra Leone from 1670 is celebrated on this date. This was a major launching point of the Middle Passage to America first settled by English slave traders about 1670.

The Danish West Indies, a story

*The Danish West Indies was affirmed on this date in 1672. Also called the Danish Antilles or the Danish Virgin Islands was a Danish colony in the Caribbean. It consists of the islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Saint Croix. The economy of the Danish West Indies functioned and prospered because of slave labor […]

The Castillo de San Marcos Fort, a story

*The Castillo de San Marcos began construction on this date in 1672.  Built with Black African slaves and Native American labor, it is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States.  Still standing, it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida.  The city of St. Augustine was founded for the Spanish Crown in 1565 on the site […]

Palenque de San Basilio is Founded

*The founding of Palenque de San Basilio is celebrated on this date in 1691. This was the first established African town in Columbia.   San Basilio de Palenque or Palenque de San Basilio is a Palenque village and corregimiento and is located in Mahates, Bolivar in northern Colombia.  Palenque is also considered one of the first free African towns in the Americas. During the Middle Passage, Spaniards introduced kidnapped African slaves to […]

The Komenda Wars Begin

*The beginning of the Komenda Wars is affirmed on this date in 1694. These wars lasted until 1700, largely between the Dutch West India Company and the British Royal African Company in the Eguafo Kingdom in the present-day state of Ghana, over trade rights. The Dutch were trying to keep the British out of the region to maintain […]

The ‘For The Trial of Negros’ Act is signed

*The ‘For the Trial of Negroes’ Act was passed on this date in 1700. This colonial law was passed to socialize and control black Africans in Delaware. This policy marked 150 years of discriminatory legislation to preserve chattel slavery in America. Blacks received more severe penalties than whites for crimes; they couldn’t carry weapons or assemble in […]

Slave Revolt in Long Island, N.Y. Begins

*On this date in 1708, one of the first recorded slave revolts occurred in America. It happened in Newton, Long Island, NY, and seven white people were killed.

Following the rebellion, a Black woman is burned alive and one Native American man and two Black men are hanged.

The New York Slave Rebellion Occurs

On this date in 1712, the New York Slave Rebellion occurred.

The Underground Railroad, and Native America, a story

*Native American involvement in American slavery’s Underground Railroad is affirmed on this date in 1722.

The Lumbee Native American Tribe, a story

*On this date from 1725 we affirm the Lumbee American Indian tribe. As of this writing (2017) California, South Dakota and Tennessee were the only American states with official days honoring the American Indian.

The St. John’s Slave Rebellion Occurs

On this date in 1733, one of the first successful African slave rebellions took place.

Enslaved Africans on the island of St. John (today a part of the United States Virgin Islands) defeated the Danish army, taking over the island and flying their own flag.

The insurrection, the first successful one in the New World, lasted six months; the Africans finally were defeated by troops sent by other European colonies in the region as reinforcements for the defeated Danish troops.

The Maroons Sign a Treaty with England

On this date in 1738, escaped African slaves and British settlers in Central America agreed to a conflict truce.

The articles of pacification from the English with the “Maroons” of Trelawny Town, Jamaica occurred on this date. The Maroons were escaped African slaves with communities in North, Central, and South America. The term Maroon derives from the Spanish word Cimarron. This word was first put on runaway cattle before it came to signify escaped African slaves. The first known Maroon was a slave who escaped from a boat in 1502.

Fort Mose (Florida) is Founded

*The founding of Fort Mose occurred on this date in 1738. Fort Mose is the site of the first free African settlement in the United States.

It is also one of the original sites on the southern route of the Underground Railroad. Colonial Spanish Florida’s Governor Manuel Montiano established the Fort. Fort Mose gave sanctuary to Africans challenging enslavement in the English Colony of Carolina. Approximately 100 Africans lived at Fort Mose, forming more than 20 households.

The Stono Rebellion Occurs

*The Stono Rebellion began on this date in 1739.  Sometimes called Cato’s Conspiracy or Cato’s Rebellion, it was a slave revolt in the (then) colony of South Carolina. Black Africans kidnapped from the Central African Kingdom of Kongo led the uprising, as some of the rebels spoke Portuguese.  Their leader, Jemmy, was a literate slave […]