Africa facts 108: “Dutch sources have pointed out that the Oba (King) could mobilise 20,000 soldiers in a single day, and raise an army of 80,000 to 180,000 men.”
– Wysinger 2008
Photo: Ivory Oba hip mask British Museum
Matilda McCrear lived long enough to become a human bridge between Africa, American slavery, and the modern era. Born in West Africa around 1857, she was captured as a toddler and transported across the Atlantic aboard the Clotilda in 1860—the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans illegally into the United States. Her Yoruba name was Àbáké, meaning “born to be loved by all.” The facial scars on her left cheek, preserved in photographs, marked her as Yoruba. The voyage ...