Pedro Blanco (slave trader)

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Slave transport in Africa

Pedro Blanco (* 1795 ; † 1854 in Genoa , Italy ) was a well-known Spanish slave trader on Gallinas in what is now Sierra Leone, West Africa , between 1822 and 1838 . Blanco previously operated a sugar cane mill in Cuba . He was considered the "largest slave trader in the world".

Blanco reached the African coast on one of his ships, the Conquistador . By 1839 he built Fort Lomboko at Gallinas as a trading post for his slaves , whom he shipped to Cuba. Blanco worked closely with the local King Siaka of Gendema . One of his most famous slaves was Sengbe Pieh , who was shipped on the La Amistad and was a leader in the slave revolt.

He operated trade connections with Cape Mount , Shebar , Digby and Nueva Sestos in what is now Liberia . His recipients, including Lino Carballo , were later in addition to Cuba in Puerto Rico , Trinidad and the Republic of Texas . Its main buyer was Leopoldo O'Donnell , Governor of Cuba .

In 1838 he left Africa and traveled to Barcelona . In 1848 his slave trade collapsed and his fort and other possessions on at least three islands in the river were destroyed by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines a year later .

Cinematic reception

The Fort Lomboko and the slave Sengbe Pieh play in the published 1997 film Amistad by Steven Spielberg an important role.

literature

  • Adam Jones: From Slaves to Palm Kernels: A History of the Galinhas Country (West Africa), 1730-1890. Steiner, Wiesbaden 1983, ISBN 3-515-03878-7 .
  • Hugh Thomas: The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870. Simon & Schuster, New York 1997, ISBN 0-684-81063-8 .
  • Lino Novas Calvo: Pedro Blanco, el negrero. Espasa-Calpe, Madrid 1946.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hugh Thomas: The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870. Simon & Schuster, New York 1997, ISBN 0-684-81063-8 , p. 803.
  2. ^ Martin R. Delany: A Documentary Reader. University of North Carolina Press, London 2003, ISBN 0-8078-2763-0 , pp. 84ff.
  3. ↑ Anna Zafiris: The Representation of African Americans in Steven Spielberg's 'Amistad' . GRIN Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 3-640-52511-6 , p. 4.
personal data
SURNAME Blanco, Pedro
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish entrepreneur and slave trader
DATE OF BIRTH 1795
DATE OF DEATH 1854
Place of death Genoa , Italy