The Story of Cudjo Lewis: One of the Last Survivors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Cudjo Lewis (c. 1841–1935) was one of the last known living survivors of the Atlantic slave trade between Africa and the United States. His life—from freedom in West Africa to enslavement in Alabama, and finally to emancipation and community-building—offers a rare firsthand account of the horrors of slavery and the resilience of those who endured it.
Early Life in Africa
-
Born Oluale Kossola in the Banté region of Dahomey (now Benin), he was a member of the Yoruba people.
-
At 19 years old, in 1860, he was captured by Dahomian warriors during a raid on his village. Many of his family and friends were killed or sold into slavery.
-
He was marched to the coast and imprisoned in Ouidah, a major slave-trading port, before being sold to the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring captives to the U.S.
The Clotilda’s Illegal Voyage (1860)
-
Despite the 1808 U.S. ban on importing slaves, Alabama plantation owner Timothy Meaher bet he could smuggle enslaved Africans into the country.
-
The Clotilda carried 110 Africans on a brutal six-week journey across the Atlantic.
-
Upon arrival in Mobile Bay, Alabama, the ship was burned to hide evidence of the illegal voyage.
Life in Slavery & Emancipation
-
Kossola was renamed Cudjo Lewis and enslaved by James Meaher (Timothy’s brother) for five years (1860–1865).
-
After the Civil War ended in 1865, he and other freed Clotilda survivors demanded land from their former enslavers. When refused, they pooled their wages to buy land and founded Africatown (near Mobile, Alabama).
-
Africatown became a self-sufficient Black community where residents preserved African traditions, language (Yoruba), and culture.
Cudjo’s Later Years & Legacy
-
In 1927, anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston interviewed Cudjo, making him one of the few formerly enslaved people to tell his story in his own words.
-
Hurston’s interviews were later published as “Barracoon: The Story of the Last ‘Black Cargo'” (2018).
-
Cudjo lived in Africatown until his death in 1935, at about 94 years old.
-
Today, Africatown is a historic site, and the wreck of the Clotilda was discovered in 2019, confirming Cudjo’s story.
Why His Story Matters
Cudjo Lewis’s life is a direct link to the transatlantic slave trade—a living witness to its brutality and its aftermath. His perseverance in building Africatown stands as a testament to resistance, resilience, and cultural survival.
“I want to tell everybody who Cudjo is… I want to talk to people in de Afficky soil and tell dem I not forget my home.” —Cudjo Lewis
Would you like more details on Africatown today or the Clotilda’s discovery?
