5 little-known black slaveowners who changed the course of American history

Slave trade in the U.S. remains a complicated period in history that continues to negatively affect Africans and African Americans alike.

The transatlantic slave trade saw about two million people enslaved in the U.S. Most of them were Africans who were uprooted from their homes.

Through their harrowing experiences on the ships, many of these enslaved Africans even died before reaching their new homes. For the many who survived, it was the beginning of sleepless nights, several hours of work on plantations on empty stomachs and the constant reminder that in their new lives they were nothing but a commodity to their owners.

Most of these owners were thought to be mostly wealthy, white individuals but historical accounts have shown that slaves were also largely owned by black people or people of colour. In 1830, 3,775 freed former slaves owned about 12,100 slaves, writes historian Carter G. Woodson.

While some of these black people owned slaves merely for personal or business reasons, others were just as callous as the white slave owners and would even adopt some sinister motives to profit big time from the trade.

Here are some of the biggest black slave owners who are not widely discussed but changed the course of American history: