Dark History From The Caribbean Plantations

Dark History From The Caribbean Plantations

Author: History Hit September 14, 2026 Duration: 1:02:14

In 1675, a planned uprising by the enslaved people of Barbados was crushed before it had a chance to come to fruition. For three years, the conspirators' lives revolved around secrecy. But the discovery of their plan resulted in brutal reprisals by the British, and the deaths of over forty people.


In this episode, Anthony and Maddy are joined by Dr Misha Ewen from the University of Sussex to discuss the uprising and how the violence of Barbados' became the blueprint for across Britain's plantation colonies in Jamaica and the American South.


This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Hannah Feodorov and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


You can take part in our listener survey here.


All music from Epidemic Sounds.


After Dark is a History Hit podcast.


History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


There’s a side to history that doesn’t make it into the standard textbooks, one filled with unexplained events, chilling folklore, and criminal acts that defy easy explanation. That’s precisely the territory explored in After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal. Hosted by historians Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling, this series from History Hit ventures into the shadowy archives of our past every Monday and Thursday. Each episode feels like a deep dive into a long-forgotten case file or a whispered campfire tale, treating these subjects with a historian’s rigor and a storyteller’s flair. You’ll hear them dissect everything from infamous witch trials and the enigmatic legacy of Harry Houdini to accounts of haunted locations and perplexing aerial phenomena. The conversation is engaging and thoughtful, never sensational, even when the topics are inherently sensational. It’s a podcast for anyone curious about the intersections of fact, fear, and folklore, offering a compelling listen that proves the past is rarely as simple or as settled as it seems. By focusing on these overlooked narratives, Delaney and Pelling provide a unique and fascinating lens on human culture and our enduring fascination with the mysterious.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal
Podcast Episodes
The Murder That Changed Britain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:09
Ruth Ellis made history in 1955 when she was the last woman hanged in Britain.She shot and killed her abusive lover, the racing driver David Blakely, at point blank range on a spring evening outside a pub.What events led…
How To Be A Medieval Spy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:43
Look closely at the Bayeux Tapestry and you will see a medieval spy.But far from the world of James Bond gadgetry, what was medieval spycraft like? Why were they referred to as 'little birds'? And why were women often us…
What Did The Vikings Do With Their Dead? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:23
The world of Viking death rituals and their beliefs surrounding the afterlife is truly fascinating... What happened when a Viking died? What ceremonies and practices did they partake in? And what awaited the spirits of t…
Wild Shipwreck and Cannibal Story That Inspired Moby Dick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:24
When a whaling ship sank in 1820, her crew were cast adrift thousands of miles from land, and faced starvation, madness, and death. Their ordeal would become one of the most extraordinary survival stories in maritime his…
Britain's Bloodiest Mutiny [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:10
The captain of the HMS Hermione was a sadist even by the not-very-high standards of the British Royal Navy in the 1700's. He was a prolific flogger, subjecting his crew to the cat-of-nine-tails. It was hardly a surprise…
Murder In The Medici Court [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:57
In Medici Florence there were two ways of maintaining power - one was money and the other was murder. Isabella de’ Medici was the believed daughter of the Medici patriarch, a patron of the arts and a sparkling wit. But t…
The Most Disastrous Voyage in Navy History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:04
It's hard to wrap your head around all the disasters that befell Captain Anson's Royal Navy voyage around the world in the 1740s. Rampant scurvy, horrendous storms, marooning and mutiny to name but a few. 90% of the orig…
Britain's Worst Airship Disaster [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:02
"It's like the Titanic, except you've never heard of it. And in a way, it's even weirder."So says today's guest, Cautionary Tales' host, Tim Harford, about the disastrous story he's taking Anthony and Maddy through.Airsh…
Would You Rather Be On The Titanic Or In Pompeii? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:58
Sound the trumpets! The day has finally arrived: Maddy Pelling is back on After Dark!To welcome her back into the coven, we're playing a game of historical 'Would You Rather?'. Listen on to hear Anthony and Maddy decide…
The Story of England's First Drag Queen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:21
Born John Cooper, "Princess Seraphina" was one of the first English Drag Queens. Princess Seraphina was an 18th-century gentleman’s servant who openly embraced her feminine drag persona. But in May 1732, a man named Thom…