Behind the Bastards

Part One: X-Mas Special: The Heroes Who Ended The Slave Trade

December 23, 2025

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The episode, part of the "Behind the Bastards" X-Mas Special series, focuses on the heroes who fought to end the Atlantic Slave Trade, a system described as uniquely terrible compared to historical forms of slavery. 
  • The Atlantic slave trade, fueled by the demand for sugar and facilitated by European powers like Portugal, Spain, and later Britain, was an industry of unprecedented sadistic cruelty, exemplified by the conditions in forts like Elmina. 
  • The immense profitability of the British slave trade, particularly through sugar in places like Jamaica, made it a foundational underpinning of the British economy and colonialism until the movement to abolish it gained traction late in the 18th century. 
  • The career of slave trader Robert Stubbs is detailed, highlighting his consistent incompetence, cruelty (including attempting to enslave his own 12-year-old son), and eventual violent deposition from his post as governor of the Anamebu slave fort. 
  • The voyage of the slave ship *Zorg* (also referred to as *Zong*) involved horrific atrocities, including the deliberate drowning of 55 women and children to conserve water, and the subsequent suicide of 10 enslaved men. 
  • The legal battle following the *Zong* incident, *Gregson v. Gilbert*, resulted in a court ruling that affirmed enslaved people were property and that their murder under duress was an 'act of God' covered by insurance, which directly inspired the organized abolitionist movement in England. 

Segments

Guest Book Plug
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(00:01:13)
  • Key Takeaway: James Stout’s book is titled Against the State: A Story of Anarchists and Comrades at War in Spain, Myanmar, and Rojava and is available for pre-order from AK Press.
  • Summary: James Stout promoted his book, Against the State, which covers stories from Spain, Myanmar, and Rojava. The book was set for release on January 26th via AK Press. Listeners were encouraged to search for the title or his name to find purchase links, with a preference expressed against buying from Jeff Bezos.
Reverse Episode Context
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(00:03:28)
  • Key Takeaway: The annual Christmas ‘reverse episode’ of Behind the Bastards focuses on heroes or good historical events, though the episode will still cover terrible things.
  • Summary: This episode is a holiday tradition where the focus shifts to heroes, contrasting with the usual subject matter of Behind the Bastards. The specific topic is the heroes who fought to end the Atlantic Slave Trade. The end of the slave trade is presented as the necessary precursor to ending slavery entirely in the British Empire and the US.
Comparing Forms of Slavery
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(00:10:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Atlantic slave trade slavery was uniquely horrific, differing fundamentally from ancient forms like Roman slavery where legal status, not race, defined inferiority and freedmen faced little stigma.
  • Summary: Slavery existed across most human societies, but the Atlantic slave trade represented a uniquely sadistic level of cruelty, comparable to an Auschwitz-level torture. Roman slavery, while nightmarish in its scale (like latifundia), was a legal condition, and freed slaves could integrate and become wealthy without racial stigma. The Atlantic system viewed enslaved Africans as chattel whose only worth was monetary.
Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade
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(00:12:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The Portuguese initiated the trade by seeking gold on the West African coast, but pivoted to the highly profitable sugar trade, which required massive, non-European labor forces.
  • Summary: Portuguese contact with sub-Saharan Africa began around 1471, initially focused on gold, leading to the construction of forts like Elmina. The realization that sugar was a more valuable tropical commodity than gold drove the need for intensive labor that European farmers could not sustain in the climate. The Spanish King ordered 4,000 African slaves imported to the Caribbean in 1518, officially launching the Atlantic slave trade.
Horrors of Elmina Fort
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(00:19:27)
  • Key Takeaway: Elmina fort, initially a gold trading hub, was converted into a prison where dungeons held up to 200 people crammed without room to lie down, and governors used staircases to easily select women for sexual assault.
  • Summary: The dungeons at Elmina became the model for future slave trading posts, featuring floors raised by centuries of accumulated filth. Women were displayed for the governor, and resistance to sexual assault resulted in being shackled to cannonballs until death. The systematic rape of enslaved women was a recognized ‘perk’ for low-level facilitators of the trade.
African Slavers’ Context and European Influence
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(00:27:24)
  • Key Takeaway: African traders often viewed their participation as an exchange of captured enemy tribesmen, a form of slavery less dehumanizing than the chattel slavery imposed by Europeans, whose demand for slaves fueled inter-tribal wars via gun trade.
  • Summary: The trade was a partnership, with African and Arab traders capturing people transported via chains called coffels. Pre-existing African slavery involved social value and potential integration, unlike the European view of enslaved people as disposable chattel. European demand for slaves, exchanged for guns and gunpowder, incentivized and intensified existing African warfare, creating a vicious cycle.
British Dominance and Economic Impact
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(00:32:13)
  • Key Takeaway: By the late 1700s, England became the primary mover of the Atlantic slave trade, with Jamaican sugar imports becoming five times more valuable than the 13 colonies’ combined imports.
  • Summary: The Dutch West India Company briefly dominated after displacing the Portuguese, but within a century, British ships handled the majority of the trade. Jamaica became the most profitable part of the British Empire due to sugar production, which required constant import of new slaves because the labor was so deadly. This trade funded British colonialism elsewhere, with Liverpool being the major hub, handling 40% of the European trade at its peak.
The Unquestioned Morality of Slavery
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(00:39:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Until the very late 1700s, the morality of the slave trade was largely unquestioned in England, with figures like Adam Smith arguing for its necessity and merchants claiming it was a kindness to Africans.
  • Summary: Most people in the imperial core did not view the trade as controversial; Adam Smith argued slavery was foundational to civilization. The Quakers were among the few consistent opponents, often viewed as kooks for their pacifist and anti-slavery stances. Pro-slavery arguments claimed that enslaved people were better off under ‘kind masters’ than under their own despotic governments.
The Zong Incident and Abolition’s Start
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(00:50:15)
  • Key Takeaway: The remarkable shift in British public opinion, leading to the end of the slave trade in 1807, is traced back to events surrounding the slave ship Zong in 1781.
  • Summary: Despite the deep economic reliance on slavery, Great Britain ended its participation in the slave trade within a few decades of the late 18th century. The abolitionist movement is noted as the first social movement dedicated entirely to the rights of outsiders. The story of how this seemingly hopeless cause succeeded begins with the events aboard the slave ship Zong near the end of 1781.
Robert Stubbs’ Governor Career
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(00:57:36)
  • Key Takeaway: Robert Stubbs was appointed governor of the Anamebu slave fort despite a history of failure and poor character.
  • Summary: Robert Stubbs, after failing as a captain and investor, secured the governorship of the British fort Anamebu on the Gold Coast. He brought his 12-year-old son, George, on the voyage, later pocketing the boy’s salary by giving him a clerical job. Other officials described Stubbs as a wicked and treacherous character, noting his malice and tendency toward falsehoods.
Stubbs’ Abuses of Power
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(01:06:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Stubbs refused to perform his duties, stole supplies, and abused his authority to enrich himself and his son.
  • Summary: Stubbs neglected his duties, calling in sick for meetings and using fort supplies to trade for personal profit in slaves. He fired his second-in-command and promoted his son to the vacated position, then pocketed the increased salary. His inability to read or write was so pronounced that his poorly written letters became trading currency among subordinates.
Conflict with Ashanti Empire
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(01:08:45)
  • Key Takeaway: Stubbs’ disrespect toward the local Ashanti Empire emissary led to his violent overthrow.
  • Summary: Stubbs alienated the crucial local Fonte allies by stopping the customary weekly alcohol distribution, threatening them with armed men when they complained. He then stole gifts intended for the King of the Ashanti Empire after signing a treaty with their emissary. This act led to his violent deposition, where he was robbed of his ill-gotten gains, including gold worth about $105,000 in modern money.
Rescue and Zong Voyage Setup
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(01:11:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Robert Stubbs was rescued by the crew of the William, and subsequently appointed captain of the Zorg under disastrous circumstances.
  • Summary: Despite his terrible reputation, Stubbs charmed the ship’s surgeon, Luke Collingswood, who convinced the William’s captain to take Stubbs back to England as a passenger. Stubbs abandoned his 12-year-old son George at the fort without explanation. Later, the captured Dutch slave ship Zorg (meaning ‘care’) was bought by the Gregson Syndicate, and Collingswood, a doctor, was made captain over a more experienced first mate.
Zong Voyage Atrocities
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(01:17:43)
  • Key Takeaway: The Zorg voyage was plagued by incompetence, resulting in the deliberate drowning of 55 women and children to save water.
  • Summary: The Zorg was dangerously overloaded with 442 enslaved people, twice its capacity, and suffered from a sick captain and a confined navigator. When water supplies dwindled due to poor navigation, the crew decided to throw enslaved people overboard. They specifically targeted women and children, throwing 55 alive through cabin windows, including a newborn and her mother.
Insurance and Abolitionist Catalyst
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(01:23:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Stubbs’ attempt to claim insurance money for the murdered enslaved people led to a landmark court case that fueled the abolitionist movement.
  • Summary: Robert Stubbs survived the Zorg voyage and returned to London to work with William Gregson to claim insurance money for the 133 people thrown overboard, arguing it was an ‘act of God.’ The ensuing court case, Gregson v. Gilbert, ruled in favor of the syndicate, establishing that enslaved people were property covered by insurance. The fallout from this ruling directly inspired the organized abolitionist movement in England.
Guest Book Promotion
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(01:27:13)
  • Key Takeaway: Guest James Stout is promoting his book, Against the State, which focuses on anarchists at war in Myanmar, Rojava, and the Spanish Civil War.
  • Summary: James Stout’s book, Against the State, covers conflicts involving anarchists in diverse locations like Myanmar, Rojava, and the Spanish Civil War. The book is available for pre-order, with release scheduled for January 26th. The pre-order price is noted as being around $18.