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10 Fascinating Facts About George Washington and Slavery

Carlota Leading the Slaves in Matanzas, Cuba, 1843,, Lili Bernard

Carlota Leading Slave Rebellion in Matanzas, Cuba, 1843, Lili Bernard

  • George Washington first came into possession of enslaved Africans at the early age of 11.
  • Washington and his wife Martha together owned about 200 enslaved Africans at the beginning of the Revolution.
  • Washington had no tolerance for enslaved African uprisings against slavery. In 1791 as president, he authorized emergency financial and military relief to French slave owners in Haiti to suppress Haitian revolution.
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