HMS Black Joke

HMS Black Joke

Please note that this episode contains mentions of racial trauma, slavery and violence.


The most feared ship in Britain’s West Africa Squadron, His Majesty’s Black Joke was one of a handful of ships tasked with patrolling the western coast of Africa in an effort to end hundreds of years of global slave trading. Once a slaving vessel itself, only a lucky capture in 1827 allowed it to be repurposed by the Royal Navy to catch its former compatriots.


A.E. Rooks is an expert in this little-discussed facet of the transatlantic slave trade. Rooks joins Dan on the podcast to chronicle this history of the daring feats of a single ship - whose crew and commanders would capture more ships and liberate more enslaved people than any other in the Squadron.


Produced by Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

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

Jaksot(1494)

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 - January 6, 1919), was an American politician, conservationist and writer. After the assassination of William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt unexpectedly became...

28 Huhti 202228min

War in Space

War in Space

On November 15 2021 Russia tested an anti-satellite weapon, shattering one of their own satellites into over a thousand pieces. This space debris will orbit the Earth for a very long time, posing a th...

27 Huhti 202224min

Gossip, Scandal and High Society

Gossip, Scandal and High Society

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, Henry ‘Chips’ Channon documented British high society in eye-watering detail. His diaries are gossipy, sometimes vile and rude but always honest. Ev...

26 Huhti 202228min

Great Scientists We've Forgotten to Remember

Great Scientists We've Forgotten to Remember

We are told that modern science was invented in Europe, the product of great minds like Nicolaus Copernicus, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. But science has never been a uniquely Eur...

25 Huhti 202232min

The Death of King George V: A Royal Murder Mystery

The Death of King George V: A Royal Murder Mystery

Just before midnight on January 20, 1936, King George V died at Sandringham, in Norfolk, England. The scandal of King George V’s reign would not be revealed publicly until 1986, in the diary of his ph...

24 Huhti 202224min

Victoria: A Greedy Queen

Victoria: A Greedy Queen

Warning: There are adult themes, explicit language and references of disordered eating and diets in this episode.Did you know that before Queen Victoria married Albert she was a well-known party anima...

21 Huhti 202242min

The History of the RNLI

The History of the RNLI

Since its foundation in 1824, the volunteers of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution have been braving the most savage of elements at sea to rescue sailors in distress. Their work has saved the liv...

20 Huhti 202231min

Operation Mincemeat: The Deception that Changed WWII

Operation Mincemeat: The Deception that Changed WWII

It’s 1943. The Allies are determined to break Hitler’s grip on occupied Europe and plan an all-out assault on Sicily, but they face an impossible challenge - how to protect a massive invasion force fr...

19 Huhti 202229min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mayday-fi
rss-ikiuni
huijarit
mystista
konginkangas
tsunami
totuus-vai-salaliitto
rouva-diktaattori
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
rss-kirkon-ihmeellisimmat-tarinat
rss-peter-peter
historiaa-suomeksi
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
rss-sattuu-sita-suomessakin
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
apinan-vuosi
rss-kalmakabinetti
rss-outoja-uutisia-pohjois-suomesta