People, Locations, Episodes

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 […]

The New York Conspiracy Begins

*The start of the New York Conspiracy is affirmed on this date in 1741. Also called the Conspiracy of 1741, also known as the Slave Insurrection of 1741, was a purported plot by Black slaves and poor whites in the (then) British colony of New York. In March and April of that year, it was […]

Hercules Posey, Slave and Chef born

*This date in 1748 is celebrated as the birth date of Hercules Posey, an enslaved African owned by George Washington. He was born around 1748 and owned by America’s first president as collateral for an unpaid loan to his original owner, Washington’s neighbor John Posey. “Uncle Harkless,” as George Washington Parke Custis called him, was […]

England Formally Sanctions American Slavery

On this date in 1749, the British parliament formally legalized slavery in the colony now known as Georgia.

The Boyd Carter Cemetery, a story

*The Boyd Carter Cemetery is affirmed On this date in 1750.  This cemetery (Boyd-Carter) of West Virginia is a burial site for persons enslaved who died working for the Dandridge family the largest white, slave-holding family in the county 1850-1860.   They maintained a farm all around the burying ground and the house they built still stands and is […]

Fort William, (Ghana) is Built

*Fort William is affirmed on this date in 1753. This was a British slave-holding facility during the Middle Passage. The fort was in Anomabu, Central Region, Ghana. It was originally known as Fort Anomabo and renamed Fort William in the nineteenth century by its then-commander, Brodie Cruickshank, who added one level to the main building during King […]

Gunston Hall (Plantation), a story

*Gunston Hall is affirmed on this date in 1759. This is an 18th-century Georgian plantation and the home of white-American Founding Father George Mason. It is near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia. Built between 1755 and 1759 as the main residence and headquarters of a 5,500-acre estate. The interior of the house and its design […]

The Treaty of Paris is Signed

*On this date, in 1763, the Treaty of Paris, also known as the Treaty of 1763, was signed. It was signed by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France, and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Great Britain and Prussia’s victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years’ War.   The treaty’s signing formally ended […]

Black History, and the Boston Massacre, a story

*This is the date of the Boston Massacre in 1770. That evening Crispus Attucks, a free Black man, was the first person to die for America’s independence; here’s what happened.

American Slavery in California, an article

*On this date in 1770, slavery in California territory is affirmed. The arrival of the Spanish colonists introduced chattel slavery and involuntary servitude to the area. This included the systematic enslavement of Native American indigenous Californians. White-Americans from the Southern and Eastern United States brought their systems of organized slavery to California. Many free and enslaved people […]

Somerset v. Stewart is Ruled

*On this date in 1772, Somerset v Stewart was ruled.  This was a British judgment of the Court of King’s Bench on labor law and human rights.   It held that chattel slavery was unsupported by the common law in England and Wales, although the position elsewhere in the British Empire was left ambiguous.  James Somerset, an enslaved African, was purchased by Charles Stewart or Stewart, a Customs officer when he was in Boston, Province of Massachusetts […]

The First American Book of Poetry by a Black Woman is Published.

*On this date in 1773, the first book of poetry written by a Black woman was published in America.

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley was published. When her owner the Wheatley’s saw her writing on a wall with chalk. Rather than punish her, the Wheatley’s encouraged her to learn. Their daughter tutored her in reading and writing. Wheatley also studied English literature, Latin, and the Bible, but what she did best was to write poetry.

Fort Ticonderoga is Captured

On this date in 1775, Black patriots helped capture Fort Ticonderoga.

Blacks participated in one of the first aggressive actions of American forces in the prelude to the Revolutionary War.

Ethan Allen, the Green Mountain Boys, and numerous Black patriots captured Fort Ticonderoga. This incident took the British in New York by surprise and defeated them.

Black History, and the Battle of Bunker Hill, a story

On this date in 1775, several Blacks participated in the famous, but misnamed, Battle of Bunker Hill.

This episode in the Revolutionary War actually took place on Breed’s Hill, across the river from Boston, Massachusetts. More Blacks than had previously been thought fought with the colonial troops, according to a Revolutionary War historian, who says that 103 Blacks and Native Americans fought with the colonial force. Among them were Salem Poor, Peter Salem, Caesar Brown, Prince Estabrook, Grant Cooper, Prince Hall, and George Middleton.

Blacks Are Barred From The Continental Army

On this date in 1775, the Continental Congress of the United States issued the order to bar Blacks from the army.