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Witness History: The last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade

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The last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade

21/04/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade

A woman who died in the US in 1940 was captured and enslaved in West Africa as a child

A woman who died in Alabama in 1940 had been captured in West Africa as a child, and sold into slavery in the USA

The last surviving person to be captured in Africa in the 19th century and brought to United States on a slave ship, has been identified as a woman called Matilda McCrear, who died in Alabama in 1940. Sean Coughlan has spoken to the historian Hannah Durkin who uncovered Matilda's extraordinary life story and to Matilda's grandson, Johnny Crear.

Photo: Matilda McCrear in later years.  Copyright: Johnny Crear.

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