1781

British general Lord Cornwallis surrendered to Americans at Yorktown.

British forces surrender to American forces at Yorktown, Virginia, effectively ending the American Revolutionary War.

The Articles of Capitulation detailed the surrender, treatment and release of British forces.

The Articles of Confederation united the thirteen colonies.

Luke Collingwood, the master of the slave ship Zong, which was running short of water and provisions, murders 132 enslaved people by throwing them alive into the sea. Collingwood believes that the massacre will allow him to claim their value on the ship’s insurance.

Mum Bett and another Massachusetts slave successfully sue their master for freedom.