1 00:00:20,803 --> 00:00:24,853 [SAM] More than 2 million Africans were lost at sea 2 00:00:24,981 --> 00:00:26,501 when they were trafficked to the "New World." 3 00:00:26,635 --> 00:00:28,895 [boat creaking] 4 00:00:29,029 --> 00:00:33,949 Over 400 years, some 12 million were enslaved and abused. 5 00:00:34,077 --> 00:00:35,987 None of that would have happened 6 00:00:36,123 --> 00:00:39,433 if it didn't generate money-- lots of it. 7 00:00:39,561 --> 00:00:42,261 ♪ 8 00:00:42,390 --> 00:00:45,000 [LEO] This place was all slave plantations. 9 00:00:45,132 --> 00:00:47,442 The people were treated like garbage, 10 00:00:47,569 --> 00:00:49,659 like a way of making a profit. 11 00:00:49,788 --> 00:00:52,838 Every mistake you make, the whip comes out. 12 00:00:52,965 --> 00:00:55,575 [whip cracks] 13 00:00:55,707 --> 00:00:57,057 [SIMCHA] Right here, people made deals that effected slavery? 14 00:00:57,187 --> 00:00:59,407 It's a center of business concerned with the slave trade. 15 00:00:59,537 --> 00:01:02,537 ♪ 16 00:01:02,671 --> 00:01:05,071 This is ground zero for sugar in the Americas-- 17 00:01:05,195 --> 00:01:07,455 plantations just like this one where we're standing. 18 00:01:07,589 --> 00:01:09,069 ♪ 19 00:01:09,199 --> 00:01:14,029 600,000 people were bought into slavery 20 00:01:14,161 --> 00:01:16,511 by Bristol merchants, on Bristol ships. 21 00:01:16,641 --> 00:01:18,081 Who profited? 22 00:01:19,905 --> 00:01:21,645 Who are the people that profited the most? 23 00:01:21,777 --> 00:01:25,687 [screaming] 24 00:01:25,824 --> 00:01:28,744 I'm sensing the souls of 600, and I want to find them. 25 00:01:30,699 --> 00:01:33,049 Afua, if we were standing here 200 years ago, 26 00:01:33,180 --> 00:01:36,710 we would have been deemed fit for market. 27 00:01:36,835 --> 00:01:38,655 [clamoring, yelling] 28 00:01:38,794 --> 00:01:40,804 Much of the world we live in today 29 00:01:40,926 --> 00:01:43,966 was built on the backs of enslaved Africans. 30 00:01:44,104 --> 00:01:46,114 To find out how this happened-- 31 00:01:46,236 --> 00:01:49,806 Follow the money. That's what we need to do. 32 00:01:49,935 --> 00:01:54,105 [metal chain clicking] 33 00:01:54,244 --> 00:02:02,124 ♪ 34 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,870 [ship horn's blowing] 35 00:02:09,259 --> 00:02:11,039 [ALLANAH] We've made it to the capital of Suriname, 36 00:02:11,174 --> 00:02:14,094 a small country in South America. 37 00:02:14,221 --> 00:02:17,881 350 years ago, it was a Dutch slave colony 38 00:02:18,007 --> 00:02:19,697 that existed for the sole purpose 39 00:02:19,835 --> 00:02:20,835 of enriching the Netherlands. 40 00:02:20,966 --> 00:02:22,706 ♪ 41 00:02:22,838 --> 00:02:24,668 [Kramer] We are here to investigate 42 00:02:24,796 --> 00:02:26,576 one of the most horrific crimes 43 00:02:26,711 --> 00:02:27,971 of the transatlantic slave trade. 44 00:02:28,104 --> 00:02:30,114 Oh, my gosh, you guys. 45 00:02:30,237 --> 00:02:32,797 It had been practically forgotten 46 00:02:32,935 --> 00:02:34,755 for nearly 300 years. 47 00:02:34,893 --> 00:02:37,643 - How are you? - You must be Leo. I'm Kinga. 48 00:02:37,766 --> 00:02:39,196 [KINGA] Doctor Leo Balai has invited us 49 00:02:39,333 --> 00:02:42,163 to this old Dutch fort to help solve the mystery 50 00:02:42,292 --> 00:02:44,862 of a sunken slave ship called "The Leusden." 51 00:02:44,990 --> 00:02:47,730 I want to tell you a story. 52 00:02:47,863 --> 00:02:52,003 I think nobody wanted to tell, but a story I need to tell 53 00:02:52,128 --> 00:02:55,128 because it is so important. 54 00:02:55,262 --> 00:02:58,052 It's a story about the biggest mass murder 55 00:02:58,178 --> 00:03:00,878 in the history of the transatlantic slave trade. 56 00:03:15,064 --> 00:03:16,814 [grunts] 57 00:03:27,250 --> 00:03:30,210 They had a smooth trip. Only 44 days. 58 00:03:31,907 --> 00:03:33,947 [thunderclap] 59 00:03:44,702 --> 00:03:45,702 [thunderclap] 60 00:04:01,893 --> 00:04:03,683 Then the ship got stuck. 61 00:04:03,808 --> 00:04:05,898 [waves crash] 62 00:04:06,028 --> 00:04:08,468 It hit the sandbank, 63 00:04:08,596 --> 00:04:10,686 and that was the beginning of the end. 64 00:04:10,815 --> 00:04:12,155 [screams] 65 00:04:12,295 --> 00:04:15,295 Here, right here in front of us was where 66 00:04:15,429 --> 00:04:19,039 "The Leusden" was supposed to enter the Suriname River 67 00:04:19,171 --> 00:04:21,001 to sell the "cargo." 68 00:04:21,130 --> 00:04:22,700 ♪ 69 00:04:22,827 --> 00:04:25,697 Imagine, that 200, 300 years ago, 70 00:04:25,830 --> 00:04:28,960 this place was all slave plantations. 71 00:04:29,094 --> 00:04:32,104 More than 600 slave plantations 72 00:04:32,228 --> 00:04:35,228 with tens of thousands of slaves to make a profit 73 00:04:35,362 --> 00:04:39,022 for people who wanted to get rich. 74 00:04:39,148 --> 00:04:41,848 It was here where everything happened, 75 00:04:41,977 --> 00:04:44,107 where people were treated like cargo, 76 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,290 like a way of making a profit. 77 00:04:47,417 --> 00:04:51,287 ♪ 78 00:04:51,421 --> 00:04:52,941 [SIMCHA] Transporting millions of slaves 79 00:04:53,075 --> 00:04:55,245 across the Atlantic 80 00:04:55,382 --> 00:05:00,262 required a tremendous amount of resources and money. 81 00:05:00,387 --> 00:05:03,297 How did this make financial sense for Europeans? 82 00:05:03,433 --> 00:05:05,873 ♪ 83 00:05:06,001 --> 00:05:08,831 I've come to London, once the center of the slave trade, 84 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:10,750 to look for some answers. 85 00:05:10,875 --> 00:05:12,875 ♪ 86 00:05:13,008 --> 00:05:14,178 [JAMES] As you can see, we are in the heart 87 00:05:14,314 --> 00:05:17,194 of the financial sector of the city of London. 88 00:05:17,317 --> 00:05:19,797 And where I am going to take you is a very surprising place 89 00:05:19,928 --> 00:05:21,798 that actually is the very heartbeat 90 00:05:21,930 --> 00:05:24,540 of the Atlantic slaving system. 91 00:05:24,672 --> 00:05:27,982 ♪ 92 00:05:28,110 --> 00:05:30,850 This is the site of the Jamaica Coffee House. 93 00:05:30,982 --> 00:05:33,812 [customers chatting] 94 00:05:33,942 --> 00:05:35,292 You can't really understand what happens 95 00:05:35,422 --> 00:05:37,732 to the world of slavery and the slave trade 96 00:05:37,859 --> 00:05:39,559 unless you think of coffee. 97 00:05:39,687 --> 00:05:42,337 - Thank you. - Thank you very much indeed. 98 00:05:42,472 --> 00:05:45,132 Why coffee and what does it have to do with slavery? 99 00:05:45,257 --> 00:05:48,387 Well, in the 17th century, coffee takes off in England. 100 00:05:48,522 --> 00:05:52,262 Merchants bring it here, and they mix it with sugar. 101 00:05:52,395 --> 00:05:55,355 It's a very bitter drink, as was tea, as was chocolate. 102 00:05:55,485 --> 00:05:58,745 And all three drinks are mixed with sugar. 103 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,060 Sugar, coffee, chocolate, 104 00:06:01,186 --> 00:06:03,576 all these things that you mentioned highly addictive. 105 00:06:03,711 --> 00:06:05,931 Yes. And all of them grown by the Africans 106 00:06:06,061 --> 00:06:07,111 who were shipped in the millions. 107 00:06:09,499 --> 00:06:12,979 Sugar is the engine behind the emergence of coffee drinking 108 00:06:13,111 --> 00:06:15,291 and the proliferation of coffee shops 109 00:06:15,418 --> 00:06:18,678 in the city of London like this one. 110 00:06:18,813 --> 00:06:21,643 This coffee shop becomes the focus point for merchants, 111 00:06:21,772 --> 00:06:24,782 for seamen from the slave corners of the empire. 112 00:06:24,906 --> 00:06:27,166 Right here in the 1600s 113 00:06:27,299 --> 00:06:30,219 people sat down and made deals that effected slavery? 114 00:06:30,346 --> 00:06:32,956 Not only made deals about slavery. 115 00:06:33,088 --> 00:06:34,998 But you would come and find out what the price of sugar was 116 00:06:35,133 --> 00:06:36,923 and what the price of slaves were. 117 00:06:37,048 --> 00:06:38,308 What was the fate of the ships 118 00:06:38,441 --> 00:06:40,401 that were traveling back and forth? 119 00:06:40,530 --> 00:06:42,140 It's a center of information, and it becomes a focus 120 00:06:42,271 --> 00:06:44,191 for business concerned with the slave trade. 121 00:06:50,366 --> 00:06:53,196 [AFUA] To fulfill Europe's massive demand for sugar, 122 00:06:53,325 --> 00:06:56,415 Brazil became its biggest supplier. 123 00:06:56,546 --> 00:06:59,286 So I've come to Brazil to see firsthand 124 00:06:59,419 --> 00:07:02,119 where it all started. 125 00:07:02,247 --> 00:07:04,247 Professor, so nice to meet you. 126 00:07:04,380 --> 00:07:05,990 - Nice to meet you. - You ready to go? 127 00:07:06,121 --> 00:07:07,171 - Yeah. - Let's go. 128 00:07:07,296 --> 00:07:13,256 ♪ 129 00:07:13,389 --> 00:07:15,479 This was the first place in the Americas 130 00:07:15,609 --> 00:07:19,309 that the sugar industry started to rely on slave labor. 131 00:07:19,439 --> 00:07:23,359 At first Europeans enslaved indigenous people. 132 00:07:23,486 --> 00:07:27,136 But so many died when they were exposed to European diseases 133 00:07:27,272 --> 00:07:29,272 that they came up with a solution: 134 00:07:29,405 --> 00:07:32,015 enslave Africans. 135 00:07:32,147 --> 00:07:33,977 Millions and millions of African slaves 136 00:07:34,105 --> 00:07:37,845 were brought here just to cultivate this crop. 137 00:07:37,979 --> 00:07:50,949 ♪ 138 00:08:05,267 --> 00:08:09,177 ♪ 139 00:08:18,585 --> 00:08:22,455 So this is ground zero for sugar in the Americas, 140 00:08:22,589 --> 00:08:24,549 plantations just like this one where we are standing. 141 00:08:24,678 --> 00:08:25,808 Yes. 142 00:08:44,349 --> 00:08:50,309 ♪ 143 00:08:53,968 --> 00:09:06,548 ♪ 144 00:09:06,676 --> 00:09:09,366 With first light, we set out with Dr. Balai 145 00:09:09,505 --> 00:09:12,245 on a journey in search of the lost slave ship, 146 00:09:12,377 --> 00:09:14,247 "The Leusden." 147 00:09:14,379 --> 00:09:15,989 - Hi. - Nice to meet you. 148 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:17,380 Kinga Phillips. 149 00:09:17,513 --> 00:09:19,563 - Hi. Alannah. - Yves. Nice to meet you. 150 00:09:19,689 --> 00:09:34,399 ♪ 151 00:09:34,530 --> 00:09:36,750 The ship was stuck on the sandbank, 152 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:40,490 and water came into the ship. 153 00:09:40,623 --> 00:09:44,323 They tried to mend it, to prevent the water 154 00:09:44,453 --> 00:09:47,153 from coming in, but it didn't stop. 155 00:09:47,282 --> 00:09:54,032 ♪ 156 00:09:54,158 --> 00:09:55,418 [thunderclap, men yelling] 157 00:09:55,551 --> 00:10:00,301 The captain decided the ship was lost. 158 00:10:00,425 --> 00:10:03,555 He also decided that the "cargo" was lost. 159 00:10:03,690 --> 00:10:07,000 The captives were of no value anymore. 160 00:10:07,128 --> 00:10:10,308 The 664 Africans who perished 161 00:10:10,435 --> 00:10:12,565 could have survived, 162 00:10:12,699 --> 00:10:16,089 but the captain had a different idea. 163 00:10:16,224 --> 00:10:19,494 I want to show you what was supposed to be 164 00:10:19,619 --> 00:10:22,319 the final destination of the enslaved Africans 165 00:10:22,447 --> 00:10:23,357 on board "The Leusden." 166 00:10:23,492 --> 00:10:36,072 ♪ 167 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,120 [animal noises] 168 00:10:40,248 --> 00:10:49,258 ♪ 169 00:10:49,387 --> 00:10:51,557 Around this whole territory 170 00:10:51,694 --> 00:10:55,134 there were all slave plantations over here. 171 00:11:08,755 --> 00:11:10,535 So, these were the highways basically. 172 00:11:10,670 --> 00:11:12,500 These were the highways 173 00:11:12,628 --> 00:11:15,278 and also the slaves digged those creeks. 174 00:11:15,413 --> 00:11:18,373 They digged it out until the Atlantic Ocean. 175 00:11:18,503 --> 00:11:22,253 A hundred miles... 176 00:11:22,377 --> 00:11:24,727 If you look around, you can't imagine 177 00:11:24,858 --> 00:11:28,378 that there were thousands of Black people living over here, 178 00:11:28,513 --> 00:11:33,343 died over here, were massacred sometimes over here 179 00:11:33,475 --> 00:11:36,645 because they had to make sugar and coffee. 180 00:11:36,783 --> 00:11:39,613 Sugar was the curse of Black people, 181 00:11:39,742 --> 00:11:42,052 because Europeans wanted sugar. 182 00:11:42,179 --> 00:11:43,349 ♪ 183 00:11:43,485 --> 00:11:44,695 Watch your head. 184 00:11:44,834 --> 00:11:48,454 ♪ 185 00:11:48,577 --> 00:11:50,317 You have to be careful in the creek 186 00:11:50,448 --> 00:11:53,408 because everything is overgrowing now. 187 00:11:53,538 --> 00:11:55,928 Nature takes everything back. 188 00:11:56,063 --> 00:12:00,203 ♪ 189 00:12:00,328 --> 00:12:01,938 Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it. 190 00:12:02,069 --> 00:12:03,459 So, nature is covering up the crime. 191 00:12:03,592 --> 00:12:05,512 Yes. 192 00:12:05,637 --> 00:12:08,417 [speaking native language] 193 00:12:08,553 --> 00:12:10,383 Snake, snake, snake. 194 00:12:10,512 --> 00:12:12,302 Easy, easy. 195 00:12:12,427 --> 00:12:14,517 We-We-We-We can continue. We can continue. 196 00:12:14,646 --> 00:12:16,686 [speaking native language] 197 00:12:16,823 --> 00:12:17,613 No, it was in the tree right there. 198 00:12:17,737 --> 00:12:19,127 - On the branch. - It's a boa. 199 00:12:19,260 --> 00:12:22,180 ♪ 200 00:12:22,306 --> 00:12:23,386 Heads up. 201 00:12:23,525 --> 00:12:29,355 ♪ 202 00:12:29,487 --> 00:12:31,617 This it? Are we getting off? 203 00:12:31,751 --> 00:12:32,621 Yes, we're getting off. 204 00:12:32,752 --> 00:12:35,412 [speaking native language] 205 00:12:37,713 --> 00:12:39,983 You, you can come. 206 00:12:40,107 --> 00:12:48,287 ♪ 207 00:12:48,419 --> 00:12:51,509 This place was flatland... 208 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:53,600 [thunderclap] 209 00:12:53,729 --> 00:12:55,689 ...with sugar canes. 210 00:12:55,818 --> 00:12:58,728 Thousands of slaves working day and night. 211 00:12:58,865 --> 00:13:01,515 This was all flat, clear, no jungle? 212 00:13:01,650 --> 00:13:03,390 No jungle. 213 00:13:03,521 --> 00:13:14,661 ♪ 214 00:13:14,794 --> 00:13:18,974 The slave owners were so inventive 215 00:13:19,102 --> 00:13:22,802 to stop the slaves from running away 216 00:13:22,932 --> 00:13:26,682 that they planted cactus around the plantation 217 00:13:26,806 --> 00:13:29,806 so you couldn't get in or out. 218 00:13:29,939 --> 00:13:38,379 ♪ 219 00:13:38,513 --> 00:13:40,433 In the middle of the jungle, 220 00:13:40,558 --> 00:13:43,258 we suddenly discover what Leo brought us here to see. 221 00:13:43,387 --> 00:13:45,167 ♪ 222 00:13:45,302 --> 00:13:47,652 What is it? 223 00:13:47,783 --> 00:13:50,443 This is part of a sugar factory. 224 00:13:50,568 --> 00:14:00,488 ♪ 225 00:14:00,622 --> 00:14:02,152 Leo... 226 00:14:02,276 --> 00:14:05,016 ♪ 227 00:14:05,148 --> 00:14:06,498 - Oh, wow, Leo. - This is huge! 228 00:14:06,628 --> 00:14:09,498 ♪ 229 00:14:09,631 --> 00:14:12,331 These are silent witnesses of an enormous crime. 230 00:14:12,460 --> 00:14:17,600 [birds chirping] 231 00:14:17,726 --> 00:14:20,816 You had hundreds of people working over you. 232 00:14:20,947 --> 00:14:23,817 Some of them at the plantation to cut the cane. 233 00:14:23,950 --> 00:14:27,650 And then you have the people who work in the factory 234 00:14:27,779 --> 00:14:29,479 to process the cane. 235 00:14:29,607 --> 00:14:31,827 Imagine yourself being a slave over here, 236 00:14:31,958 --> 00:14:35,438 then you can see how horrible it was. 237 00:14:35,570 --> 00:14:38,360 ♪ 238 00:14:38,486 --> 00:14:40,486 [whip cracks, man yells] 239 00:14:40,618 --> 00:14:45,448 Get up in the morning, work 18 hours a day, 240 00:14:45,580 --> 00:14:47,190 seven days a week. 241 00:14:48,931 --> 00:14:52,461 Every mistake you make, the whip comes out. 242 00:14:52,587 --> 00:14:55,367 [whip cracks, man yells] 243 00:14:55,503 --> 00:14:58,723 So the life expectancy of an African here 244 00:14:58,854 --> 00:15:00,604 was about eight years? 245 00:15:00,725 --> 00:15:03,025 Yeah, they reckon about eight to 10 years, 246 00:15:03,163 --> 00:15:04,903 and then it was over. 247 00:15:05,034 --> 00:15:08,604 All right, I-I'm trying to imagine this, right? 248 00:15:08,733 --> 00:15:13,003 You get captured in Africa, and then once you're here... 249 00:15:13,129 --> 00:15:15,699 You get branded. 250 00:15:15,827 --> 00:15:20,527 You get branded, right, bought and then tortured 251 00:15:20,658 --> 00:15:22,438 for eight years in a sugar plantation, 252 00:15:22,573 --> 00:15:24,183 and then you die. 253 00:15:24,314 --> 00:15:29,624 ♪ 254 00:15:29,754 --> 00:15:30,674 What did all of this look like? 255 00:15:30,799 --> 00:15:32,629 What are all these pieces? 256 00:15:32,757 --> 00:15:34,367 We're looking at skeletons. 257 00:15:34,498 --> 00:15:35,848 It was powered by steam, I think. 258 00:15:35,978 --> 00:15:37,328 [YVES] It was a steam machine. 259 00:15:37,458 --> 00:15:38,758 Right there was the oven. 260 00:15:38,894 --> 00:15:44,904 [machine whirring] 261 00:15:45,031 --> 00:15:46,731 Some parts of the engine you can see over there. 262 00:15:46,858 --> 00:15:54,868 [machinery clanging] 263 00:15:54,997 --> 00:15:56,737 But the most important part was this. 264 00:15:56,868 --> 00:15:58,608 This was the press. 265 00:15:58,740 --> 00:16:04,620 [machinery whirring] 266 00:16:04,746 --> 00:16:06,876 Come take a look. 267 00:16:07,009 --> 00:16:10,619 This is like say, sugar cane, and then they pressed it inside, 268 00:16:10,752 --> 00:16:13,492 and then the juice will come free. 269 00:16:13,624 --> 00:16:18,764 [machine clicking] 270 00:16:18,890 --> 00:16:21,850 But sometimes, it could be that your hand 271 00:16:21,981 --> 00:16:23,941 was stuck into the press. 272 00:16:24,070 --> 00:16:28,030 When your hand gets stuck in the machine, 273 00:16:28,161 --> 00:16:32,511 the only thing they did was to chop your hand off. 274 00:16:32,643 --> 00:16:36,523 Because they couldn't, wouldn't stop the machine... 275 00:16:36,647 --> 00:16:38,687 So, someone will come running and cut it off. 276 00:16:38,823 --> 00:16:41,523 There was always someone around here with a machete. 277 00:16:41,652 --> 00:16:43,962 Someone stood here with a machete... 278 00:16:44,090 --> 00:16:45,740 - Yes. - ...just in case that happened. 279 00:16:45,874 --> 00:16:47,754 Just in case, and it happened often 280 00:16:47,876 --> 00:16:50,656 because the people worked 16, 18 hours a day 281 00:16:50,792 --> 00:16:52,622 and you get tired. 282 00:16:52,750 --> 00:16:56,450 And a mistake with such a machine often happens. 283 00:16:56,580 --> 00:16:58,890 That's the price of sugar. 284 00:16:59,018 --> 00:17:00,448 That's the price of sugar, of course. 285 00:17:00,584 --> 00:17:03,634 And the Africans on "The Leusden," 286 00:17:03,761 --> 00:17:07,551 they didn't even give them this chance to come here 287 00:17:07,678 --> 00:17:10,858 or try and live their eight years of life expectancy 288 00:17:10,986 --> 00:17:13,076 or to get away. 289 00:17:13,206 --> 00:17:15,596 They were murdered because the captain took a wrong turn. 290 00:17:15,730 --> 00:17:19,430 They weren't even worth the chance. 291 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:24,830 ♪ 292 00:17:24,956 --> 00:17:34,656 [footsteps] 293 00:17:34,792 --> 00:17:38,672 ♪ 294 00:17:38,796 --> 00:17:40,706 I've come to where the slave trade, 295 00:17:40,842 --> 00:17:44,062 which became the biggest business 296 00:17:44,193 --> 00:17:46,943 in the Western Hemisphere began: Lagos. 297 00:17:47,066 --> 00:17:50,806 Here, Portugal's ruler, Henry the Navigator, 298 00:17:50,939 --> 00:17:53,809 established the first naval trade routes to West Africa. 299 00:17:53,942 --> 00:17:56,082 ♪ 300 00:17:56,205 --> 00:17:59,465 In 1444, the very first enslaved Africans 301 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,690 were brought to this square. 302 00:18:03,821 --> 00:18:05,951 So, I see a statue there of Henry the Navigator 303 00:18:06,085 --> 00:18:09,565 who's celebrated here as some kind of visionary. 304 00:18:09,697 --> 00:18:13,527 But in reality, he also started the slave trade. 305 00:18:13,657 --> 00:18:16,747 [speaking Spanish] 306 00:18:27,193 --> 00:18:30,073 So, take me back to this moment in history 307 00:18:30,196 --> 00:18:32,496 where Africans, right in this square, 308 00:18:32,633 --> 00:18:35,903 were sold like objects. 309 00:19:02,010 --> 00:19:06,230 Africans buried in a mass grave were recently found here. 310 00:19:06,362 --> 00:19:10,632 And today, the site has been turned into a mini golf course. 311 00:19:35,086 --> 00:19:38,046 - They were Africans? - Yeah. 312 00:19:38,177 --> 00:19:40,527 How many skeletons did you find? How many humans? 313 00:19:45,009 --> 00:19:47,839 It's very strange for me to be looking at a mini-golf 314 00:19:47,969 --> 00:19:51,489 and imagining that it's a mass grave. 315 00:19:51,625 --> 00:19:52,495 Yeah. 316 00:20:05,769 --> 00:20:07,859 His hands are tied behind his back. 317 00:20:18,217 --> 00:20:21,827 - She's holding a baby - Mm-hmm. 318 00:20:21,959 --> 00:20:24,439 It kind of shows you that the suffering of the Africans 319 00:20:24,571 --> 00:20:27,141 is not part of people's consciousness. 320 00:20:27,269 --> 00:20:28,879 Instead of building a memorial here, 321 00:20:29,010 --> 00:20:31,710 they built a golf course. 322 00:20:31,839 --> 00:20:36,629 ♪ 323 00:20:36,757 --> 00:20:37,847 [bird caws] 324 00:20:37,975 --> 00:20:42,845 ♪ 325 00:20:42,980 --> 00:20:45,200 After navigating the jungle creek successfully, 326 00:20:45,331 --> 00:20:47,721 we're now deep in rural Suriname, 327 00:20:47,855 --> 00:20:50,065 halfway to the mouth of the Maroni River 328 00:20:50,205 --> 00:20:54,245 where we will search for the location of "The Leusden." 329 00:20:54,383 --> 00:20:57,043 Our next stop is a small town called Albina. 330 00:20:57,168 --> 00:20:59,168 Here we're meeting Dr. Balai's colleagues 331 00:20:59,301 --> 00:21:00,261 who will take us to the river mouth 332 00:21:00,389 --> 00:21:02,699 and help us in the search process. 333 00:21:02,826 --> 00:21:05,736 Hi. How are you? This is Jerzy Gawronski. 334 00:21:05,873 --> 00:21:07,833 Long time no see. 335 00:21:07,962 --> 00:21:08,792 Kramer, nice to meet you. 336 00:21:08,919 --> 00:21:10,829 I am the archeologist. 337 00:21:10,965 --> 00:21:11,875 "The Leusden," it is somewhere out there 338 00:21:12,009 --> 00:21:13,139 by the mouth of the Maroni River, 339 00:21:13,272 --> 00:21:15,882 so I invite you aboard, and let's find it. 340 00:21:16,013 --> 00:21:17,283 - Awesome. - Okay, let's. 341 00:21:22,629 --> 00:21:28,069 ♪ 342 00:21:28,199 --> 00:21:30,159 Archeologist Jerzy Gawronski 343 00:21:30,289 --> 00:21:32,939 and marine expert Steve Moore 344 00:21:33,074 --> 00:21:36,304 have spent years researching with Dr. Balai. 345 00:21:36,425 --> 00:21:38,775 Now we're joining them in their efforts 346 00:21:38,906 --> 00:21:41,076 to pinpoint the location of the shipwreck 347 00:21:41,212 --> 00:21:43,872 and expose the story to the world. 348 00:21:43,998 --> 00:21:57,318 ♪ 349 00:21:59,970 --> 00:22:01,280 With these historical maps 350 00:22:01,407 --> 00:22:02,317 together with the crew's testimony, 351 00:22:02,451 --> 00:22:05,761 we were able to identify several target areas 352 00:22:05,889 --> 00:22:07,369 for the wreck of "The Leusden." 353 00:22:07,500 --> 00:22:13,110 The ship arrives here around the 30th of December, 1737. 354 00:22:13,244 --> 00:22:15,814 They described that they followed the coast 355 00:22:15,943 --> 00:22:18,293 from the east, and then early morning 356 00:22:18,424 --> 00:22:21,124 on the 1st of January, they saw a river mouth. 357 00:22:26,127 --> 00:22:30,037 There was very heavy rain, like a wall of water, 358 00:22:30,174 --> 00:22:31,834 very heavy winds. 359 00:22:31,959 --> 00:22:34,829 [gulls chirping] 360 00:22:34,962 --> 00:22:37,492 And then in the fog, they saw the corner of land. 361 00:22:37,617 --> 00:22:38,967 They hit a sandbank... 362 00:22:39,096 --> 00:22:42,096 [screaming] 363 00:22:42,230 --> 00:22:43,970 ...and got stuck, 364 00:22:44,101 --> 00:22:45,671 they lost the rudder, and there was a big, massive hole. 365 00:22:45,799 --> 00:22:49,409 [screaming] 366 00:22:49,542 --> 00:22:52,022 And at that point they knew there was no saving the ship. 367 00:22:52,153 --> 00:22:53,763 They called it already in the account 368 00:22:53,894 --> 00:22:55,374 they called it a "wreck." 369 00:22:55,504 --> 00:22:57,114 They called the ship not anymore "the ship," 370 00:22:57,245 --> 00:22:59,325 but they called it "the wreck." 371 00:22:59,465 --> 00:23:01,155 In order to get an idea what happened, 372 00:23:01,292 --> 00:23:03,382 we also have a map from that period. 373 00:23:03,512 --> 00:23:06,252 This is a map from 1777 indicating more or less 374 00:23:06,385 --> 00:23:08,815 the situation during the wreckage. 375 00:23:08,952 --> 00:23:11,352 And you see a number of sandbanks. 376 00:23:11,477 --> 00:23:14,957 And on one of these sandbanks, the ship must be stuck. 377 00:23:15,089 --> 00:23:17,789 Jerzy, I'm wondering with the silt 378 00:23:17,918 --> 00:23:19,268 and the currents going through, 379 00:23:19,398 --> 00:23:21,618 how that's going to affect the dive. 380 00:23:21,748 --> 00:23:23,918 Well, in these circumstances the visibility 381 00:23:24,054 --> 00:23:26,884 is reduced sometimes to zero because of the presence 382 00:23:27,014 --> 00:23:29,844 of all this silt floating in the water. 383 00:23:29,973 --> 00:23:31,323 But let's hope for the best. 384 00:23:31,453 --> 00:23:33,373 So we won't know until we get out there, huh? 385 00:23:33,499 --> 00:23:34,239 No, and it can change day by day. 386 00:23:34,369 --> 00:23:38,289 [seabirds calling] 387 00:23:38,417 --> 00:23:40,417 This river mouth is huge. 388 00:23:40,549 --> 00:23:43,769 It's over three miles wide, so the first step 389 00:23:43,900 --> 00:23:47,120 in pinpointing the shipwreck is to scan the possible targets 390 00:23:47,251 --> 00:23:49,691 on the riverbed with a specialized metal detector. 391 00:23:49,819 --> 00:23:51,869 ♪ 392 00:23:51,995 --> 00:23:56,475 [splash] 393 00:23:56,609 --> 00:23:59,089 The mission now is to find a trail of metallic debris. 394 00:24:12,581 --> 00:24:15,801 We go back and forth over the square mile 395 00:24:15,932 --> 00:24:19,112 we've targeted as the last resting place of "The Leusden." 396 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,290 ♪ 397 00:24:23,418 --> 00:24:24,718 The work takes days. 398 00:24:24,854 --> 00:24:33,384 ♪ 399 00:24:33,515 --> 00:24:34,255 There has never been much shipping activity 400 00:24:34,385 --> 00:24:36,385 in these waters. 401 00:24:36,518 --> 00:24:39,348 So if we find any sign of metal, 402 00:24:39,478 --> 00:24:41,828 that would strengthen our theory that this is the site 403 00:24:41,958 --> 00:24:43,348 of the underwater wreck. 404 00:24:43,482 --> 00:24:46,832 [speaking native language] 405 00:24:46,963 --> 00:24:49,883 "The Leusden" is so important for the history of slave trade. 406 00:24:50,010 --> 00:24:51,530 We have to find it. 407 00:24:51,664 --> 00:24:54,804 After five days we still haven't picked up any signals. 408 00:24:54,928 --> 00:25:01,888 ♪ 409 00:25:02,022 --> 00:25:03,412 But then, suddenly... 410 00:25:03,545 --> 00:25:04,885 Yeah, we're coming to the end of that line, 411 00:25:05,025 --> 00:25:06,845 I think we got something. 412 00:25:06,983 --> 00:25:07,943 - Yes, there's something there. - Yeah, yeah, definitely. 413 00:25:08,071 --> 00:25:09,291 We are seeing some sort of target 414 00:25:09,420 --> 00:25:10,940 or something magnetic down there. 415 00:25:11,074 --> 00:25:12,344 We need to pull it in, have a look. 416 00:25:12,467 --> 00:25:15,247 There's finally a lead, 417 00:25:15,383 --> 00:25:17,303 and we stop to verify the target. 418 00:25:17,428 --> 00:25:20,608 Almost 300 years after the disaster, 419 00:25:20,736 --> 00:25:23,516 fingers crossed, we may be floating right over the wreck. 420 00:25:23,652 --> 00:25:28,532 ♪ 421 00:25:28,657 --> 00:25:31,527 From a small business in the town of Lagos, Portugal, 422 00:25:31,660 --> 00:25:34,970 the slave trade became a worldwide industry, 423 00:25:35,098 --> 00:25:38,278 creating cities like Rio de Janeiro. 424 00:25:38,406 --> 00:25:43,366 ♪ 425 00:25:43,498 --> 00:25:47,328 4% of the enslaved were brought to North America. 426 00:25:47,458 --> 00:25:51,108 The Caribbean received 36%, 427 00:25:51,245 --> 00:25:54,335 14% went to Spanish America 428 00:25:54,465 --> 00:25:59,465 and 46% of the total came to Brazil. 429 00:25:59,601 --> 00:26:02,341 During construction for the 2016 Olympic Games, 430 00:26:02,473 --> 00:26:04,523 old ruins were discovered here, 431 00:26:04,650 --> 00:26:06,960 unveiling one of the darkest parts 432 00:26:07,087 --> 00:26:09,607 of Rio De Janeiro's past. 433 00:26:09,742 --> 00:26:11,352 [SADAKNE] This is called the "Valongo," and this dates back 434 00:26:11,482 --> 00:26:14,092 about 200 years. 435 00:26:14,224 --> 00:26:17,404 And the thing that might shock you to imagine 436 00:26:17,532 --> 00:26:20,452 is that this is a wharf, 437 00:26:20,579 --> 00:26:24,499 so the water actually came all the way up to here. 438 00:26:24,626 --> 00:26:27,106 So, if we had been standing here 200 years ago, 439 00:26:27,237 --> 00:26:29,497 what would we have seen happening here in this wharf? 440 00:26:29,631 --> 00:26:34,291 The Valongo was a port logistics infrastructure 441 00:26:34,418 --> 00:26:35,548 for human traffic. 442 00:26:35,681 --> 00:26:38,421 If we were standing here 200 years ago, 443 00:26:38,553 --> 00:26:41,953 we would have been deemed fit for market. 444 00:26:42,078 --> 00:26:44,338 At that time, 445 00:26:44,472 --> 00:26:48,522 half of Rio De Janeiro's population was enslaved. 446 00:26:48,650 --> 00:26:50,830 And you could come to the Valongo 447 00:26:50,957 --> 00:26:54,127 and you could buy enslaved Africans by weight. 448 00:26:54,264 --> 00:26:55,574 Give me a sense of the scale. 449 00:26:55,701 --> 00:26:58,271 How many people were brought here? 450 00:26:58,399 --> 00:27:00,399 We're talking three to four million 451 00:27:00,531 --> 00:27:03,581 stolen Africans over hundreds of years. 452 00:27:03,709 --> 00:27:06,489 We are actually looking at the site 453 00:27:06,625 --> 00:27:09,445 of one of the greatest crimes of humanity. 454 00:27:09,584 --> 00:27:13,374 In all of history. In all of human history. 455 00:27:13,501 --> 00:27:14,461 And just like in Portugal, 456 00:27:14,589 --> 00:27:17,769 the enslaved who were not of use anymore 457 00:27:17,897 --> 00:27:19,157 were simply discarded. 458 00:27:20,987 --> 00:27:23,947 In 1996, a young couple bought this house, 459 00:27:24,077 --> 00:27:26,037 and they started to dig up in the back to do some, uh, 460 00:27:26,166 --> 00:27:27,336 improvements on the property. 461 00:27:27,471 --> 00:27:29,041 And up came bones. 462 00:27:29,169 --> 00:27:30,469 Bones? 463 00:27:30,605 --> 00:27:32,865 And then more bones, and then more bones. 464 00:27:32,999 --> 00:27:35,389 This is the cemetery of "The New Blacks." 465 00:27:35,523 --> 00:27:39,403 ♪ 466 00:27:39,527 --> 00:27:41,957 Why does it have that name? 467 00:27:42,095 --> 00:27:44,745 The New Blacks was a category of enslaved Africans. 468 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,450 This described the Africans who were what we might think of 469 00:27:47,578 --> 00:27:49,358 as "fresh off the boat." 470 00:27:49,493 --> 00:27:51,543 These are the newly arrived. 471 00:27:51,670 --> 00:27:57,200 These are the people who barely survived the passage. 472 00:27:57,327 --> 00:28:00,237 We're looking at something incredibly harrowing to see. 473 00:28:00,374 --> 00:28:02,644 This is someone who was enslaved, 474 00:28:02,768 --> 00:28:04,598 who was a young woman around 20 years of age. 475 00:28:04,726 --> 00:28:07,556 Initially, there was an intention 476 00:28:07,686 --> 00:28:10,466 to have a proper cemetery with individual graves, 477 00:28:10,601 --> 00:28:13,601 and very quickly, this got out of hand. 478 00:28:13,735 --> 00:28:16,165 And this place turned into a mass grave 479 00:28:16,303 --> 00:28:20,443 where bodies were just thrown into this area. 480 00:28:20,568 --> 00:28:22,438 And then the residents of Rio De Janeiro, 481 00:28:22,570 --> 00:28:24,920 they began to throw their trash. 482 00:28:25,051 --> 00:28:27,361 And then when the smell would get so bad, 483 00:28:27,488 --> 00:28:29,618 they'd light it on fire and burn it all down, 484 00:28:29,751 --> 00:28:32,361 and then start the process again. 485 00:28:32,493 --> 00:28:36,453 Do we know how many Africans were disposed of 486 00:28:36,584 --> 00:28:41,374 in this incredibly inhumane way, in this cemetery here? 487 00:28:41,502 --> 00:28:43,112 At least 30,000. 488 00:28:43,243 --> 00:28:47,463 ♪ 489 00:28:47,595 --> 00:28:52,555 ♪ 490 00:28:52,687 --> 00:28:54,077 In the target area, 491 00:28:54,210 --> 00:28:55,600 Steve and Jerzy 492 00:28:55,734 --> 00:28:57,744 have managed to identify a set of coordinates 493 00:28:57,866 --> 00:29:02,386 as the potential location for the wreck of "The Leusden." 494 00:29:02,523 --> 00:29:04,663 We can see here the target we just got. 495 00:29:04,786 --> 00:29:06,566 There's two passes here, identical. 496 00:29:06,701 --> 00:29:09,661 So that is a definite hit... 497 00:29:09,791 --> 00:29:12,361 - Oh, wow, okay. - ...and we've done it twice. 498 00:29:12,489 --> 00:29:14,399 - Is that still there? - Yeah. 499 00:29:14,535 --> 00:29:15,535 That's incredible. 500 00:29:15,666 --> 00:29:17,316 I don't want to get ahead of myself, 501 00:29:17,451 --> 00:29:18,631 but we do know that "The Leusden" 502 00:29:18,757 --> 00:29:21,537 dropped more than one anchor, 503 00:29:21,672 --> 00:29:25,372 and it was carrying a number of cannons. 504 00:29:25,502 --> 00:29:27,422 That's definitely something iron, 505 00:29:27,548 --> 00:29:31,768 either an anchor, a few cannons, a cluster of shackles. 506 00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:34,690 It could be something really big and really deep 507 00:29:34,816 --> 00:29:36,556 or it could be something not so big just under the surface. 508 00:29:36,687 --> 00:29:38,647 Ah...okay, got it. 509 00:29:38,777 --> 00:29:40,517 So we're in the right place. We have the right substance. 510 00:29:40,648 --> 00:29:42,688 Yes, the right target, the right signal, the right everything. 511 00:29:42,824 --> 00:29:44,004 - Awesome. - Everything is right. 512 00:29:44,130 --> 00:29:47,220 ♪ 513 00:29:47,350 --> 00:29:49,610 Finally, we have a definite target, 514 00:29:49,744 --> 00:29:52,184 and it's time to dive and see if we can find it. 515 00:29:52,312 --> 00:29:55,752 ♪ 516 00:29:55,881 --> 00:29:58,361 As the senior diver on the expedition, 517 00:29:58,492 --> 00:29:59,622 Kramer will go down first. 518 00:29:59,754 --> 00:30:01,414 It's incredibly dangerous. 519 00:30:01,538 --> 00:30:03,758 He has to try and overcome strong currents, 520 00:30:03,889 --> 00:30:06,759 low visibility and venomous stingrays 521 00:30:06,892 --> 00:30:09,722 that feed on the bottom of the riverbed. 522 00:30:09,851 --> 00:30:11,771 Do you still want to put your jacket on in the water or...? 523 00:30:11,897 --> 00:30:14,457 During the dive, there will be no direct communication 524 00:30:14,595 --> 00:30:16,505 between Kramer and us. 525 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:20,470 So, a rope is attached to him and in case of an emergency, 526 00:30:20,601 --> 00:30:21,521 we can pull him up. 527 00:30:21,645 --> 00:30:25,425 [indistinct conversations] 528 00:30:25,562 --> 00:30:27,612 - Have you got a hand? - Yeah. What? 529 00:30:27,738 --> 00:30:29,518 - Pieces are coming off. - You good? 530 00:30:29,653 --> 00:30:30,703 - You're gonna lock it down. - I've got it. 531 00:30:30,829 --> 00:30:34,219 It's just me, but it's not. 532 00:30:34,354 --> 00:30:36,794 ♪ 533 00:30:36,922 --> 00:30:39,662 I'm sensing the souls of 600-plus, 534 00:30:39,794 --> 00:30:41,754 and I want to find them. 535 00:30:41,883 --> 00:30:44,023 Kramer, just go over the signals. 536 00:30:44,146 --> 00:30:45,666 One long pull, return the signal, 537 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,980 "I'm okay. Are you okay?" 538 00:30:48,107 --> 00:30:50,277 Two: "I am coming up." 539 00:30:50,413 --> 00:30:52,593 Or, four: "There's a problem come up" 540 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:54,810 or "we have a problem come up." 541 00:30:54,940 --> 00:30:59,600 I want to be able to come up and say yes, they're here. 542 00:31:02,077 --> 00:31:07,207 We've found them. We've done what Dr. Balai called us for... 543 00:31:07,343 --> 00:31:10,043 ♪ 544 00:31:10,172 --> 00:31:13,702 ...to try and give them peace 545 00:31:13,828 --> 00:31:17,218 and hopefully, on some level, a proper burial. 546 00:31:22,097 --> 00:31:27,357 The currents are really strong, and the water is super murky. 547 00:31:27,494 --> 00:31:29,714 This makes it much more difficult for Kramer 548 00:31:29,844 --> 00:31:31,454 and dangerous. 549 00:31:31,585 --> 00:31:32,665 It'll be really hard to spot 550 00:31:32,803 --> 00:31:34,463 those venomous stingrays down there. 551 00:31:34,588 --> 00:31:36,588 Kramer this is for sweeping on the bottom 552 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:38,640 for any stingrays, yeah? 553 00:31:38,766 --> 00:31:40,546 Good luck! 554 00:31:40,681 --> 00:31:55,571 ♪ 555 00:31:55,696 --> 00:31:59,176 [breathing through tank] 556 00:32:37,303 --> 00:32:42,533 ♪ 557 00:32:42,656 --> 00:32:43,656 [thunderclap] 558 00:32:47,269 --> 00:32:49,449 "The Leusden" had hit a sandbank 559 00:32:49,576 --> 00:32:50,746 and was sinking in the river mouth. 560 00:32:50,881 --> 00:32:54,801 [screaming] 561 00:32:54,929 --> 00:32:59,329 At that moment, the captain made a fateful decision. 562 00:32:59,455 --> 00:33:03,415 [screaming] 563 00:33:03,546 --> 00:33:05,766 [hammering] 564 00:33:05,896 --> 00:33:09,936 [screaming] 565 00:33:10,075 --> 00:33:13,815 What he did was to tell the sailors 566 00:33:13,948 --> 00:33:15,598 to nail down the hatches. 567 00:33:15,732 --> 00:33:21,612 [screaming] 568 00:33:21,738 --> 00:33:24,868 [screaming] 569 00:33:25,003 --> 00:33:27,613 He decided at that moment 570 00:33:27,744 --> 00:33:32,014 to murder 664 human beings. 571 00:33:33,881 --> 00:33:36,711 The sailors sat on the hatches all night. 572 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,670 [all screaming] 573 00:33:44,065 --> 00:33:49,415 By morning, all the Africans below deck were dead, 574 00:33:49,549 --> 00:33:51,729 drowned in shallow waters. 575 00:33:51,855 --> 00:33:54,595 Then the captain and crew took the lifeboats 576 00:33:54,728 --> 00:33:56,688 and made it to shore. 577 00:33:59,776 --> 00:34:01,466 There he is. He's on the surface. 578 00:34:01,604 --> 00:34:03,654 Coming around. 579 00:34:03,780 --> 00:34:11,790 ♪ 580 00:34:11,919 --> 00:34:13,619 - You all right, Kramer? - Yeah. 581 00:34:13,747 --> 00:34:15,967 How was it? 582 00:34:16,097 --> 00:34:18,227 - All blacked out. - Completely black? 583 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:19,750 - Yeah. - Can't see a thing? 584 00:34:19,883 --> 00:34:21,493 Can't--Can't see a thing down there. 585 00:34:21,624 --> 00:34:23,544 ♪ 586 00:34:23,670 --> 00:34:24,980 I was feeling around 587 00:34:25,106 --> 00:34:27,756 to see if I could feel something down there. 588 00:34:27,891 --> 00:34:29,851 Really didn't feel anything, right? 589 00:34:29,980 --> 00:34:33,330 But--Yeah, just sandy and black. 590 00:34:33,462 --> 00:34:34,942 ♪ 591 00:34:35,073 --> 00:34:36,903 This is a murder scene, 592 00:34:37,031 --> 00:34:40,301 and the souls of over 600 Africans are down there. 593 00:34:40,426 --> 00:34:45,516 So, on some level, you want to feel like 594 00:34:45,648 --> 00:34:47,738 you can hear them calling to you, right? 595 00:34:47,868 --> 00:34:50,568 Um... 596 00:34:50,697 --> 00:34:56,087 But...it was just silence. Dead silence. 597 00:35:02,100 --> 00:35:05,060 Diving conditions are unlikely to get any better. 598 00:35:05,190 --> 00:35:08,190 Dredging is now the only remaining option. 599 00:35:08,323 --> 00:35:11,593 And if we're in the right spot that would involve bringing up 600 00:35:11,718 --> 00:35:12,978 the bones of the dead from the river bottom. 601 00:35:13,111 --> 00:35:16,071 [indistinct conversation] 602 00:35:16,201 --> 00:35:20,341 We know that most likely, directly below us 603 00:35:20,466 --> 00:35:23,726 is the final resting place of 664 people 604 00:35:23,860 --> 00:35:24,730 who were murdered. 605 00:35:24,861 --> 00:35:26,731 ♪ 606 00:35:26,863 --> 00:35:29,743 We collectively decided that at this moment, 607 00:35:29,866 --> 00:35:34,126 the best thing to do is to let the dead rest. 608 00:35:37,178 --> 00:35:40,308 There is one thing that I can't get out of my head. 609 00:35:40,442 --> 00:35:42,582 Had the Africans been set free 610 00:35:42,705 --> 00:35:44,835 to flee into the surrounding jungle, 611 00:35:44,968 --> 00:35:46,668 would they have survived? 612 00:35:46,796 --> 00:35:51,536 Dr. Balai has one more secret to share with us. 613 00:35:51,671 --> 00:35:53,721 ♪ 614 00:35:53,847 --> 00:35:55,017 Lost ships like "The Leusden" 615 00:35:55,153 --> 00:35:58,463 and millions of Africans who died 616 00:35:58,591 --> 00:36:01,991 didn't prevent the slave trade from gaining momentum. 617 00:36:02,116 --> 00:36:05,726 There was simply too much money to be made. 618 00:36:05,859 --> 00:36:10,469 Bristol was literally built on the backs of enslaved Africans. 619 00:36:10,603 --> 00:36:13,693 [MARK] So, this is the key site and all the warehouses 620 00:36:13,823 --> 00:36:15,093 down the side here. 621 00:36:15,216 --> 00:36:17,036 In fact, that one still survives today. 622 00:36:17,175 --> 00:36:20,085 There's the church on the horizon. 623 00:36:20,221 --> 00:36:22,141 It gives you an idea of what life is like. 624 00:36:22,267 --> 00:36:25,177 The cranes, the forest of ships' masts. 625 00:36:25,313 --> 00:36:28,013 Can you give me a sense of the numbers of slaves 626 00:36:28,142 --> 00:36:30,752 that were actually carried on ships 627 00:36:30,884 --> 00:36:32,104 built right here in Bristol? 628 00:36:32,233 --> 00:36:33,373 Well, we're talking up to 2,000 ships 629 00:36:33,495 --> 00:36:35,105 would have left this very spot. 630 00:36:35,236 --> 00:36:39,496 And around 600,000 people were bought 631 00:36:39,632 --> 00:36:42,852 into slavery by Bristol merchants on Bristol ships. 632 00:36:42,983 --> 00:36:45,123 ♪ 633 00:36:45,246 --> 00:36:48,156 I can't help but notice one name 634 00:36:48,293 --> 00:36:52,173 seems to be absolutely prevalent in this part of the city. 635 00:36:52,297 --> 00:36:55,907 The name Edward Colston is literally everywhere. 636 00:36:56,039 --> 00:37:00,349 He is kind of one of the revered father figures of Bristol 637 00:37:00,479 --> 00:37:02,179 and is remembered as one 638 00:37:02,307 --> 00:37:04,607 of the great benefactors of charities, 639 00:37:04,744 --> 00:37:06,924 hospitals, and schools. 640 00:37:07,050 --> 00:37:08,050 But his early career was involved 641 00:37:08,182 --> 00:37:11,192 with the Royal African Company 642 00:37:11,316 --> 00:37:14,056 that was set up to trade with Africa 643 00:37:14,188 --> 00:37:18,238 in ivory and in gold and in slaves. 644 00:37:18,366 --> 00:37:20,716 ♪ 645 00:37:20,847 --> 00:37:22,407 What do you see when you look up at this statue? 646 00:37:22,544 --> 00:37:24,854 Well, I see one of Bristol's, 647 00:37:24,981 --> 00:37:27,201 I suppose favorite, honored sons, Edward Colston, 648 00:37:27,332 --> 00:37:30,902 who represents a period in Bristol's history. 649 00:37:31,031 --> 00:37:33,031 I think we should have a much wider narrative 650 00:37:33,163 --> 00:37:35,563 around who he is and what he did 651 00:37:35,688 --> 00:37:38,258 and a better understanding of who Edward Colston is. 652 00:38:36,488 --> 00:38:38,838 [SAM] In many cases, when slave ships went down 653 00:38:38,968 --> 00:38:40,318 no money was lost. 654 00:38:40,448 --> 00:38:42,968 The ship's owner would make an insurance claim 655 00:38:43,103 --> 00:38:45,323 for the murdered Africans. 656 00:38:45,453 --> 00:38:49,073 But the economics of the system began to unravel 657 00:38:49,196 --> 00:38:52,676 with the British slaver "The Zong." 658 00:38:52,808 --> 00:38:58,118 The crew of that ship claimed that in November of 1781, 659 00:38:58,248 --> 00:39:00,338 supplies onboard were running dangerously low. 660 00:39:00,468 --> 00:39:08,688 ♪ 661 00:39:08,824 --> 00:39:17,704 [shouting] 662 00:39:17,833 --> 00:39:19,103 [whip cracks] 663 00:39:19,226 --> 00:39:24,136 [shouting] 664 00:39:24,274 --> 00:39:26,104 [blow lands] 665 00:39:26,233 --> 00:39:28,103 [shouting] 666 00:39:28,235 --> 00:39:33,015 ♪ 667 00:39:33,153 --> 00:39:37,773 So they threw more than 130 Africans overboard 668 00:39:37,897 --> 00:39:39,117 to lighten the load. 669 00:39:39,246 --> 00:39:41,636 ♪ 670 00:39:41,770 --> 00:39:44,860 These massacres were not unusual on slave ships. 671 00:39:44,991 --> 00:39:47,251 What was unusual this time 672 00:39:47,385 --> 00:39:51,385 was that the insurance company refused to pay. 673 00:39:51,519 --> 00:39:53,129 ♪ 674 00:39:53,260 --> 00:39:55,390 And the case went to court. 675 00:39:55,523 --> 00:39:57,263 ♪ 676 00:39:57,395 --> 00:40:00,085 We're here to look at the original trial documents. 677 00:40:00,223 --> 00:40:03,443 ♪ 678 00:40:03,575 --> 00:40:06,185 [JAMES] What I've dug out here is an extraordinary document. 679 00:40:06,316 --> 00:40:08,966 It is the report of the court case, 680 00:40:09,102 --> 00:40:12,802 1783 of the infamous Zong case. 681 00:40:12,932 --> 00:40:15,892 ♪ 682 00:40:16,022 --> 00:40:19,072 These slaves, valued at 30 pounds a man. 683 00:40:19,199 --> 00:40:22,989 They threw over this part of "the cargo." 684 00:40:23,116 --> 00:40:27,156 "The case of the slaves was the same 685 00:40:27,294 --> 00:40:30,174 as if horses had been thrown overboard." 686 00:40:33,300 --> 00:40:36,000 This is just one case that illustrates a huge industry. 687 00:40:36,129 --> 00:40:37,829 Usually, I guess prior to that, 688 00:40:37,957 --> 00:40:39,217 you make a claim they paid it. 689 00:40:39,349 --> 00:40:40,309 - Yeah. - It was that simple. 690 00:40:40,438 --> 00:40:41,998 And the court had to make a decision: 691 00:40:42,135 --> 00:40:43,135 do the insurers pay or not? 692 00:40:43,266 --> 00:40:47,356 ♪ 693 00:40:47,488 --> 00:40:51,408 The matter left to the jury is whether it was from "necessity." 694 00:40:51,536 --> 00:40:52,276 They said the reason we are throwing them overboard: 695 00:40:52,406 --> 00:40:53,886 there isn't enough water. 696 00:40:54,016 --> 00:40:55,276 There was a navigational error. 697 00:40:55,409 --> 00:40:57,239 They'd overshot Jamaica. They ran out of water. 698 00:40:57,367 --> 00:40:58,407 Said they were running out of water... 699 00:40:58,543 --> 00:41:00,373 Said they were running out of water. 700 00:41:00,501 --> 00:41:01,421 ...but the evidence proved there was still enough water 701 00:41:01,546 --> 00:41:06,506 to sustain the crew and the cargo. 702 00:41:06,638 --> 00:41:09,078 There clearly was water. So that argument falls flat. 703 00:41:09,205 --> 00:41:11,075 And what happened in the hearing 704 00:41:11,207 --> 00:41:14,247 is the bad guys lost, so to speak. 705 00:41:14,384 --> 00:41:16,174 They wanted money for murdering people, 706 00:41:16,299 --> 00:41:17,389 and they didn't get the money, 707 00:41:17,518 --> 00:41:19,998 but they didn't lose on morality. 708 00:41:20,129 --> 00:41:20,999 They lost on a technicality. 709 00:41:21,130 --> 00:41:22,700 It was a technicality. 710 00:41:22,828 --> 00:41:23,568 That was what the case was about, isn't it? 711 00:41:23,698 --> 00:41:25,348 It is about legal technicalities. 712 00:41:25,483 --> 00:41:28,223 Are the murders covered by the insurance policy? 713 00:41:28,355 --> 00:41:30,135 Morality in this is actually out the window. 714 00:41:30,270 --> 00:41:32,140 There's no sense that this is a moral debate. 715 00:41:34,317 --> 00:41:36,407 The judge is Lord Mansfield. 716 00:41:36,537 --> 00:41:38,707 The judge is Lord Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice. 717 00:41:38,844 --> 00:41:41,854 Held up as the great architect of maritime law 718 00:41:41,977 --> 00:41:43,457 in 18th century. 719 00:41:43,588 --> 00:41:46,238 He rules against the owners of the ship, 720 00:41:46,373 --> 00:41:48,813 but these guys don't get tried for murder. 721 00:41:48,941 --> 00:41:50,291 He knows that if he makes a moral judgment about slavery 722 00:41:50,420 --> 00:41:52,550 and the slave trade, 723 00:41:52,684 --> 00:41:55,164 and if he said there's something dubious about this, 724 00:41:55,295 --> 00:41:57,035 he knows that begins to unravel the whole economics 725 00:41:57,166 --> 00:41:59,036 of the Atlantic slave system. 726 00:41:59,168 --> 00:42:02,298 So this Lord Mansfield just did it all on a technicality. 727 00:42:02,432 --> 00:42:03,172 He didn't really care. 728 00:42:03,303 --> 00:42:05,133 No, maybe not. 729 00:42:05,261 --> 00:42:08,261 Let me show you something that might shed a new light 730 00:42:08,395 --> 00:42:10,435 on Lord Mansfield 731 00:42:10,571 --> 00:42:13,311 in terms of what this is and what happened at the time. 732 00:42:13,443 --> 00:42:16,323 Oh, hey, guys! 733 00:42:16,446 --> 00:42:18,096 Introducing... 734 00:42:18,231 --> 00:42:21,541 - Ahh. - ...Dido Elizabeth Bell. 735 00:42:21,669 --> 00:42:27,369 ♪ 736 00:42:27,501 --> 00:42:30,161 She's the daughter of Lord Mansfield's nephew, 737 00:42:30,286 --> 00:42:34,286 and he brought her to live in Lord Mansfield's house. 738 00:42:34,421 --> 00:42:37,161 She was raised with his daughter, 739 00:42:37,293 --> 00:42:40,563 supposedly, as equals. 740 00:42:40,688 --> 00:42:44,468 Either way, the question is whether having her 741 00:42:44,605 --> 00:42:48,475 in that household colored Lord Mansfield's... 742 00:42:48,609 --> 00:42:50,089 - Judgment. - ...judicial action. 743 00:42:50,219 --> 00:42:51,569 Well, I did not expect this. 744 00:42:51,699 --> 00:42:53,659 A picture like this, a painting like this 745 00:42:53,788 --> 00:42:55,398 in those days, 746 00:42:55,529 --> 00:42:56,439 putting them on an equal footing. 747 00:42:56,574 --> 00:42:58,404 We do know that when he died, 748 00:42:58,532 --> 00:43:00,492 he left her an equal share of his estate. 749 00:43:00,621 --> 00:43:02,581 But at the same time, was she really equal? 750 00:43:02,710 --> 00:43:06,190 She's got the tropical fruit that was very common 751 00:43:06,322 --> 00:43:09,462 as an accessory for African servants in paintings 752 00:43:09,587 --> 00:43:10,627 belonging to the aristocracy. - Oh, really? 753 00:43:10,762 --> 00:43:14,032 She's got the turban. It says, "I'm exotic." 754 00:43:14,156 --> 00:43:15,586 She's got the big South Sea pearls though. 755 00:43:15,723 --> 00:43:16,993 She has the pearls and she's dressed in fine clothes. 756 00:43:17,116 --> 00:43:18,596 Yeah. 757 00:43:18,726 --> 00:43:20,466 So I feel like this painting conveys the ambivalence 758 00:43:20,598 --> 00:43:22,898 of her status at the time. 759 00:43:24,514 --> 00:43:29,224 I was angry at Lord Mansfield for ruling 760 00:43:29,345 --> 00:43:31,605 for the good guys but on a technicality. 761 00:43:31,739 --> 00:43:34,479 Now you think he's a good guy because he had a Black girl 762 00:43:34,612 --> 00:43:36,092 living in his house? - It's not just a Black girl. 763 00:43:36,222 --> 00:43:37,922 It's family. - Okay. 764 00:43:38,050 --> 00:43:39,620 He's leaving money, and that puts me into his mind, 765 00:43:39,747 --> 00:43:42,657 and I'm thinking whoa, maybe at that time, 766 00:43:42,794 --> 00:43:46,584 the only thing he could do is find on a technicality. 767 00:43:46,711 --> 00:43:49,541 This reveals his soul, and at the end of the day, 768 00:43:49,670 --> 00:43:54,280 the fact is that he just made a ruling 769 00:43:54,414 --> 00:43:56,424 that was the beginning of the end of the slave trade. 770 00:43:56,546 --> 00:43:59,846 Most of the time we don't hear the voices 771 00:43:59,985 --> 00:44:02,465 of the African people, of Black people, 772 00:44:02,596 --> 00:44:04,596 of people who had a history of enslavement 773 00:44:04,729 --> 00:44:06,819 because they haven't left written records. 774 00:44:06,948 --> 00:44:09,118 All we have to go by is paintings 775 00:44:09,255 --> 00:44:11,465 that were commissioned by their white benefactors 776 00:44:11,605 --> 00:44:15,035 or diaries left by white people who met them. 777 00:44:15,174 --> 00:44:16,524 - Right. - I would love to know 778 00:44:16,654 --> 00:44:19,354 what Dido's life was really like. 779 00:44:22,485 --> 00:44:27,355 ♪ 780 00:44:40,460 --> 00:44:43,330 There's something more I want to show you. 781 00:44:43,463 --> 00:44:46,473 We are going out to a place called Akalikondre. 782 00:44:46,596 --> 00:44:50,246 It's a "Maroon" village, as they call it. 783 00:44:50,383 --> 00:44:52,433 And the Maroons are escaped slaves. 784 00:44:52,559 --> 00:44:53,389 I call them "freedom fighters"... 785 00:44:53,516 --> 00:44:55,256 Freedom Fighters. 786 00:44:55,388 --> 00:44:57,298 ...because they fought the plantation owners... 787 00:44:57,433 --> 00:44:58,573 Okay. 788 00:44:58,696 --> 00:44:59,646 ...killed them... - Wow. 789 00:44:59,784 --> 00:45:01,964 ...went away, took people with them, 790 00:45:02,090 --> 00:45:06,270 went into the woods and started new communities. 791 00:45:06,399 --> 00:45:20,279 ♪ 792 00:45:20,413 --> 00:45:21,463 Do we wait for someone to meet us? 793 00:45:21,588 --> 00:45:24,198 Yeah. 794 00:45:24,330 --> 00:45:26,640 We're actually going to meet the descendants 795 00:45:26,767 --> 00:45:29,547 of the escaped slaves from the plantations 796 00:45:29,683 --> 00:45:31,253 here in Suriname. 797 00:45:31,380 --> 00:45:35,730 ♪ 798 00:45:52,401 --> 00:46:00,281 [speaking native language] 799 00:46:00,409 --> 00:46:02,539 Kinga. 800 00:46:02,672 --> 00:46:04,502 Kramer. 801 00:46:07,503 --> 00:46:09,163 Hi. Alannah. 802 00:46:09,288 --> 00:46:12,508 ♪ 803 00:46:12,639 --> 00:46:16,209 The air was just thick with anticipation. 804 00:46:16,338 --> 00:46:17,988 It was two cultures meeting. 805 00:46:18,123 --> 00:46:19,603 ♪ 806 00:46:19,733 --> 00:46:22,563 We can walk with them? 807 00:46:22,692 --> 00:46:24,782 Everyone wants to be on their best behavior, 808 00:46:24,912 --> 00:46:28,522 us especially, for the captain of that village. 809 00:46:28,655 --> 00:46:31,435 Is that it? Okay, is that it? 810 00:46:31,571 --> 00:46:33,921 - We'll follow them. - We'll follow them. 811 00:46:34,052 --> 00:46:39,232 [indistinct conversations] 812 00:46:50,372 --> 00:46:53,462 [laughing] 813 00:46:53,593 --> 00:46:59,253 ♪ 814 00:46:59,381 --> 00:47:00,731 We all sat down kind of stiff. 815 00:47:00,861 --> 00:47:04,261 It was a little awkward at first. 816 00:47:04,386 --> 00:47:06,646 But then the first thing the captain did 817 00:47:06,780 --> 00:47:09,480 was say a blessing and perform a libation. 818 00:47:11,654 --> 00:47:12,614 [speaking native language] 819 00:47:55,133 --> 00:47:56,533 [speaks native language] 820 00:47:56,656 --> 00:48:00,526 ♪ 821 00:48:00,660 --> 00:48:03,360 The overwhelming thing that I got from them 822 00:48:03,489 --> 00:48:05,669 was a sense of pride. 823 00:48:05,795 --> 00:48:08,535 They live a very meager existence, 824 00:48:08,668 --> 00:48:10,368 but they're happy. 825 00:48:10,496 --> 00:48:12,366 They're happy and they're proud. 826 00:48:12,498 --> 00:48:15,718 A very proud people because they fought 827 00:48:15,849 --> 00:48:16,759 and won their freedom. 828 00:48:16,894 --> 00:48:19,514 Oh, that looks delicious. 829 00:48:19,635 --> 00:48:21,065 This is... [speaking native language] 830 00:48:21,202 --> 00:48:22,732 - Oh, okay. - This is Tomtom. 831 00:48:22,856 --> 00:48:24,506 We call it Tomtom. 832 00:48:25,990 --> 00:48:30,340 - Oh, wow. - It's peanuts with rice. 833 00:48:30,472 --> 00:48:32,692 - Peanuts and rice? - [laughing] 834 00:48:32,822 --> 00:48:35,832 It smells delicious. 835 00:48:35,956 --> 00:48:39,526 That was a couple of hundred years ago, right? 836 00:48:39,655 --> 00:48:42,745 But they are aware of what took place. 837 00:48:42,876 --> 00:48:45,486 Their children are aware of what took place. 838 00:48:45,618 --> 00:48:47,318 They teach their history. 839 00:48:47,446 --> 00:48:50,136 ♪ 840 00:48:50,275 --> 00:48:53,665 Yeah, an overwhelming sense of pride. 841 00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:55,580 ♪ 842 00:48:55,715 --> 00:48:58,935 It made me feel good 843 00:48:59,066 --> 00:49:03,106 that even in the midst of all that brutality, 844 00:49:03,244 --> 00:49:05,464 the pride and the fighting spirit 845 00:49:05,594 --> 00:49:07,344 of African people remained. 846 00:49:07,466 --> 00:49:13,386 ♪ 847 00:49:13,515 --> 00:49:14,685 Thank you. 848 00:49:27,921 --> 00:49:30,751 Good? Thank you. 849 00:49:33,100 --> 00:49:37,980 ♪ 850 00:50:09,702 --> 00:50:10,792 Thank you. 851 00:50:12,792 --> 00:50:17,012 I couldn't help but imagine or wonder, 852 00:50:17,144 --> 00:50:19,804 the African captives that were on "The Leusden," 853 00:50:19,929 --> 00:50:21,579 they could have had this life. 854 00:50:21,714 --> 00:50:22,634 ♪ 855 00:50:22,758 --> 00:50:24,458 What if? 856 00:50:24,586 --> 00:50:26,676 What if they hadn't been murdered? 857 00:50:26,806 --> 00:50:30,506 And what if they hadn't nailed down the hatches? 858 00:50:30,636 --> 00:50:34,026 If they hadn't sat on the hatches to make sure 859 00:50:34,161 --> 00:50:37,691 that they drowned and killed every last one of them? 860 00:50:37,817 --> 00:50:40,687 They could have saved themselves. 861 00:50:40,820 --> 00:50:43,690 It could have been just another Maroon village. 862 00:50:43,823 --> 00:50:48,003 Baisha, do you know what country in Africa 863 00:50:48,132 --> 00:50:50,742 you're from or where everybody is from? 864 00:50:50,873 --> 00:50:52,833 [speaking native language] 865 00:50:52,962 --> 00:50:56,662 - They said Ghana. - Okay. 866 00:50:56,792 --> 00:50:59,532 Ghana is the main place where they come from. 867 00:50:59,665 --> 00:51:00,925 How do they know? 868 00:51:01,058 --> 00:51:02,888 [speaking native language] 869 00:51:03,016 --> 00:51:06,666 Their ancestors. From their grandparents. 870 00:51:06,802 --> 00:51:09,632 The other told the other and so on. 871 00:51:09,762 --> 00:51:11,982 As slaves they come from there. 872 00:51:12,112 --> 00:51:13,852 Baisha, have you ever been to Africa? 873 00:51:13,983 --> 00:51:15,643 No. 874 00:51:15,768 --> 00:51:17,548 - Do you want to go? - Yeah. 875 00:51:17,683 --> 00:51:19,513 - Yeah. - [laughing] 876 00:51:19,641 --> 00:51:21,901 If you did get the chance to go, 877 00:51:22,035 --> 00:51:23,515 would you call that home? 878 00:51:23,645 --> 00:51:24,985 Or is this home? 879 00:51:25,125 --> 00:51:28,955 When we go there, I come back to here. 880 00:51:29,086 --> 00:51:30,866 - This is home. - This is home. 881 00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:33,480 This is my home. 882 00:51:35,179 --> 00:51:37,879 - Aw, you guys, this is it! - Yeah. 883 00:51:38,007 --> 00:51:40,097 Captain, thank you. 884 00:51:40,227 --> 00:51:41,657 ♪ 885 00:51:41,794 --> 00:51:42,884 [laughing] 886 00:51:43,012 --> 00:51:44,672 [all laugh] 887 00:51:46,451 --> 00:51:51,591 ♪ 888 00:51:52,979 --> 00:51:54,889 [laughing]