Cudjo Lewis (1841–1935)

Cudjo Lewis (1841–1935) is considered the last survivor of the last slave ship to enter the United States.

 

 

He was born around 1841 to a Yoruba family in the Banté region of Dahomey (today Benin). At age 14, he began his training as a soldier & was inducted into oro, the Yoruba secret male society; by age 19, he was undergoing initiation. His initiation training was cut short, however, in the spring of 1860 when soldiers from Dahomey raided his town, killing townspeople & taking prisoners.