The heroic soldier and trusted personal assistant of the revered Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi was a man of African descent nicknamed Andrea il Moro (Andrew the Moor), but born into slavery as Andrea Aguyar in Montevideo, Uruguay. His exact birth date and parents are unknown. One major consequence … Read MoreAndrea Aguyar (a.k.a. Andrea Aquyar and Andrea il Moro), 1810?-1849
Bussa Emancipation Statue, Bridgetown, Barbados Image Ownership: Public domain The Bussa Rebellion was the largest slave revolt in the history of Barbados. The rebellion took its name from the African-born slave, Bussa, who led the uprising. The Bussa Rebellion was the first of the three … Read MoreBussa Rebellion (1816)
Born March 19, 1784 in the northern coastal territory of La Guajira, Colombia, José Padilla is recognized as one of the first South American-born naval commanders, a founder of the Colombian navy, and a hero in the Latin American wars of independence and the Afro-Hispanic … Read MoreJosé Prudencio Padilla Lopez (1784-1828)
José María Morelos y Pavón, statesman and Roman Catholic priest, was one of the greatest insurgent military commanders during the Mexican War of Independence. Morelos was born into a poor “pardo” (Afro-Mexican) family in Valladolid, Mexico on September 30, 1765 to José Manuel Morelos y … Read MoreJosé María Morelos y Pavón (1765-1815)
Henri Christophe was a military leader in the Haitian Revolution as well as president and later king of the young nation. Born into slavery in 1767, Christophe was brought to French colonial Haiti, known as Saint Domingue, most likely from Kitts. There he worked a … Read MoreHenri Christophe (1767-1820)
Eduardo Mondlane, an educator, nationalist, and leader of the Mozambique independence movement, was born on June 20, 1920, in the Gaza District of Southern Mozambique, which at the time was under the colonial rule of the Portuguese. He was the child of a Tsonga chief, … Read MoreEduardo Chivambo Mondlane (1920-1969)
The Niger Delta Conflict began in the 1990s in regards to the ongoing conflict between the militia groups of Nigeria, the Nigerian government, and the foreign oil corporations set up in the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta is a major producer of petroleum for nations … Read MoreNiger Delta Conflict, 1990s–
Known as the Primer Libertador de America or “first liberator of the Americas,” Gaspar Yanga led one of colonial Mexico’s first successful slave uprisings and would go on to establish one of the Americas earliest free black settlements. Rumored to be of royal lineage from … Read MoreGaspar Yanga (c. 1545- ?)
Reviled for his brutality yet honored as one of the founding fathers of Haiti, Jean-Jacques Dessalines was second in command under Toussaint L’Overture during the Haitian Revolution and was the general who emerged after L’Overture’s capture to lead the insurgents in declaring Haitian independence on … Read MoreJean-Jacques Dessalines (1758-1806)
