Matilda, the last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/1/12/remembering-matilda-the-last-survivor-of-the-transatlantic-slave-trade

by dxs • 2 years ago

49 42 2 years ago

aljazeera.com

InDubioProRubio• 2 years ago

Good thing we work on the evil of 3 generations ago instead of handling the evil of the now:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Libya

wat1000010• 2 years ago

It’s important to remember history so we might have a chance of not repeating it.

HKH27• 2 years ago

The OP's point is that it is still being repeated right now.

strken• 2 years ago

What actions have you taken recently to handle the evil that is slavery in Libya?

gilleain2• 2 years ago

I don't understand the point of a comment like this - the article is about a historical figure who is relevant to a large-scale event. Why is that a bad thing, and why do we need to solve all other issues in the world first?

eckesicle3• 2 years ago

Yes, exactly. We can do both. Recognise a historical figure and raise awareness of current issues.

AnimalMuppet• 2 years ago

Your point is valid. But the top-level point is also valid, because the article is from Al Jazeera. It's valid to point out that there's slavery in their (Arab) world much more recently than in the US.

rendall3• 2 years ago

Qatar publishes articles like this in order to distract and divert from its own slavery problem.

https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/findings/spotl...

nijuashi2• 2 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

jmyeet• 2 years ago

I was aware that the transatlantic slave trade was banned in 1808. I had no idea there were illegal shipments as late as 1859. I'm glad this article specifically mentions the "convict leasing" exception to the 13th Amendment. As noted, it's still an issue to this day.

For obvious reasons, first hand accounts of the transatlantic slave trade are incredibly rare. A notable exception is Omar Ibn Said [1] who was fluent in spoken and written Arabic. The vast majority of slaves were illiterate.

[1] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/only-surviving-ara...

poulpy123• 2 years ago

I wonder if we will get articles about the last survivor of the slavery in Qatar (abolished in 1952)

rendall3• 2 years ago

There is no last survivor of slavery in Qatar. Despite its officially being abolished, Qatari slavery endures to this day.

https://dohanews.co/report-qatar-fifth-highest-proportion-sl...

kamikazeturtles• 2 years ago

It's really hard to define slavery. I don't see any difference between indentured servitude and modern student loans. If a bank is projecting your future earning potential and how risky you are when deciding whether to give you a loan in student loans, mortgages, credit card ... How is that any different from slavery? They're literally projecting if you can pay off a loan amortized over ~30 years.

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was a very brutal form of slavery. Slavery existed in many forms throughout history and I don't think our current iteration of "employment" and lending is very different from many of slavery's historical forms

internet_points• 2 years ago

Good thing these days slavery is illegal in the US – unless your company owns a prison

tiahura• 2 years ago

Enslaved by Africans and sold by a Canadian, and I’m supposed to pay reparations?

sitkack• 2 years ago

Very good writing and thorough coverage.

A central element of the Black Codes was “vagrancy” laws. Through a system known as “convict leasing”, many African-American boys and men were arrested for minor offences such as vagrancy, imprisoned, and then leased out to work for private businesses. This created a new system of forced labour which again was little more than slavery. Convict leasing was legally rooted in the so-called “exception clause” of the 13th Amendment which states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.”

This is I think the primary reason our justice system is so messed up. Convict Leasing was and is a barbaric practice.

I highly recommend this book

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_by_Another_Name

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convict_leasing

For example, in 1898, 73% of Alabama's annual state revenue came from convict leasing.

To think we are turning a blind eye to this in the world. It makes the US even more of a hypocrite.

chronial• 2 years ago

I really like this video essay that also covers convict leasing: https://youtu.be/j4kI2h3iotA?si=9-VanyLpw1rJLLUI

BrandoElFollito• 2 years ago

I wonder which were the largest "institunalized" slavery cases over the ages (if one vaguely define slavery as being forced or fooled to do work in harsh conditions supported by the local rulers/govs, without the ability to stop - something like that, common sense).

I think African slavery was large, but there were Romans and Greeks before, or Asian countries. Pretty much everyone I guess.

I am asking this question because when I recently discussed massive homicides, I has the Nazi camps in mind and a friend mentioned Pol Pot's as being much bigger.

The place you are in (France in my case) biaises this a lot.

Matilda, the last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade

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