The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering
Fexingo History · World
The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering
The Atlantic slave trade was not a single enterprise but a centuries-long, globe-spanning system that transformed economies, cultures, and human lives across Africa, the Americas, and Europe. This show examines the trade from its 15th-century origins under Portuguese and Spanish colonization through its peak in the 18th century and its eventual abolition in the 19th century. Lucas and Luna guide listeners through the brutal Middle Passage, the rise of plantation economies in Brazil, the Caribbean, and the southern United States, and the resistance and resilience of enslaved Africans. We explore key figures such as Olaudah Equiano, whose autobiography exposed the trade’s horrors; Zumbi dos Palmares, leader of a Brazilian maroon community; and British abolitionists like William Wilberforce. We also confront the trade’s enduring legacies: the racism that justified it, the wealth it created for European empires, and the ongoing debates over reparations and memory. This is a history of suffering, but also of survival, rebellion, and the long struggle for freedom. How do we remember an empire built on human suffering—and what does that mean for today?
