The last known survivor of the transatlantic slave ships, brought to the US in 1860, has been identified by an academic at Newcastle University.
Sally Smith was kidnapped from West Africa by slave traders and lived until 1937 in Alabama, staying on the plantation where she had been enslaved.
Hannah Durkin made the discovery while researching first-hand accounts, archives and census records.
The previous last known survivor had been a former slave who died in 1935.
Dr Durkin says it almost seems “shocking” that the story is so close to living memory.
Last survivor of US slave ships discovered. The woman, kidnapped from west Africa, stayed on the same Alabama plantation for over 70 years after the abolition of slavery. https://t.co/tFEt9sc6v9
— Sean Coughlan (@seanjcoughlan) April 3, 2019