Frederick Douglass's only published fiction tells of the 1841 Creole revolt, which freed 128 people

historyThe Public Domain Review1853 · Rochester, New York, USA

Frederick Douglass's only published fiction tells of the 1841 Creole revolt, which freed 128 people

the gist

Autographs for Freedom, a Boston anthology of 1853 compiled by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society, includes the only published fiction by Frederick Douglass. His story The Heroic Slave is based on Madison Washington, who led a rebellion aboard the slave ship Creole in 1841. The rebels took control of the ship and sailed it to Nassau in the Bahamas, where slavery had been outlawed since 1833. There 128 of the 135 enslaved people aboard gained their freedom. Julia Griffiths, an Englishwoman who had met Douglass in London, drove the anthology's creation.

so what

The Creole revolt is one of the most successful shipboard uprisings of enslaved people in US history, and Douglass's fiction turned it into an argument against slavery. The anthology shows how abolitionist writing was used to raise money and public support.

Image: The Public Domain Review

source: The Public Domain Review ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗