Abaco Islands
Great story well told by Michael Harriort.
Thread: Today I learned the interesting story of Abaco, the island in the Bahamas hit hardest by hurricane Dorian.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
But harsh conditions made many of the white people leave. Then, in 1807, Britain abolished the slave trade. Many of those freed Africans who were liberated on the open seas went to the Bahamas as free people.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
In 1834, Britain freed all the slaves in its territories and shit really got crazy.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
See, the Bahamas were a regular stop in the Atlantic. Plus, shipwrecked US vessels also ended up there.
“Umm, I don’t know if you heard but we don’t play that slave shit over here. Y’all can ride out but you gotta leave the Africans here. They’re free now.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
“Now we can handle this like gentlemen, or we can get into some Gangsta shit.”
So word started getting around plantations about the Bahamas.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
Then, in 1840, the Hermosa, a US slave ship headed from Richmond going to New Orleans, wrecked in Abaco.
Of course, these dumb white folks actually ran and told that. The US government got involved but something else happened.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
Enslaved Africans on plantations started hearing about that shit, too!
(Yes, shit’s about to get good)
So Madison was on this slave ship, the Creole, with 143 Africans and 17 white people who had ONE GUN!
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
Dassit!
Y’all know shit was about to pop off.
First they tried to force the Creole’s captain to take them back to Africa, but the captain was like:
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
“Y’all got some Africa gas money?” Plus, without Google Maps, they’d probably have to print out directions from Mapquest and the ship’s printer was out of ink or something
So Madison and the slave rebellers get to the Bahamas and a bunch of black soldiers come on board.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
The captain tells the soldiers that the people were his property but the Bahamians attorney general was like: “y’all can go. You’re free now.”
So they go above deck and look out on the ocean and witness something astonishing:
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
The slave ship was surrounded by a “fleet” of tiny little boats manned by local Bahamians ready to take the revolters to freedom.
They would be free forever.
When the people in the US heard about the revolt, they were OUTRAGED. They demanded a trial. The British agreed. But the Bahamians were like: “Well we don’t have an extradition treaty with those filthy slave traders, so the trial will have to be in the Bahamas.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
The court ruled, in essence, this:
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
“How you gon’ charge them with pirating their own bodies? GTFOHWTBS Cased dismissed!”
*again, not a literal translation
They will teach you about slave revolts by Denmark Vessey, Nat Turner and John Brown.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 7, 2019
But this is the story of Abaco, The Bahamas and what is called:
The most successful slave revolt in US history
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