The Matt Walsh Show

Episode: The Real History of Slavery
Date: February 18, 2026
Host: Matt Walsh (The Daily Wire)

Episode Overview

In this provocative and unfiltered episode, Matt Walsh tackles the subject of slavery—not just the transatlantic slave trade as it’s typically taught in American schools, but the broader, global, and ancient history of enslavement. Walsh challenges prevailing narratives in academic and popular culture, aiming to “set the record straight” about the role of Americans, Europeans, Africans, Arabs, and others. He addresses not only who practiced slavery but who ended it, emphasizing that the story is far more complex than commonly portrayed.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Challenging the "Uniquely American" Narrative on Slavery

• Matt opens by decrying what he sees as indoctrination of Americans into believing the country is uniquely wicked for its involvement in slavery, arguing that this is a distortion of historical facts.
  • “Generations of Americans have been force fed lies designed to beat us into a state of submission and self loathing.” (00:02)
• He cites a University of Wisconsin professor’s findings that students widely (and wrongly) believe slavery began with the United States, highlighting public ignorance on global slavery. (00:52)

2. The Scope and Geography of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

• Walsh provides statistical breakdowns, showing most slaves went to Brazil and the Caribbean, not British North America:
  • “The grand total of slaves brought to the future United States was about half the number brought only to Cuba. 472,372, or 3% of the total.” (01:30)
• He asserts that, compared to other regions, the United States was a “best case scenario” for those forced into slavery, a recurring theme used to contrast American slavery to other, harsher contexts. (01:45)

3. African Participation and the Dahomey Kingdom

• Walsh describes the Kingdom of Dahomey’s central role in the West African slave trade, depicting it as a society built on warfare, slavery, and human sacrifice.
  • “By the end of the kingdom, an estimated 1.9 million slaves came from west African coastline controlled by the Dahomey.” (02:28)
  • He references Dahomey’s all-female military—the "Dahomey Amazons"—and cites both missionary and historical accounts of extreme brutality:
    • “They are preceded by a slave girl carrying a bell. Sound told every male to get out of their path... If the men didn’t get out of the way, they stood a very good chance of being split in half.” (03:25)
• Walsh notes that French colonization ended this era of slavery and mass murder, framing European intervention as a force for civilization. (08:18)

4. Slavery in Antiquity and Non-Western Contexts

• The episode traces slavery back to ancient civilizations—Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, Rome—and the Americas, showing its deep universality:
  • “Slavery’s roots go back at least ancient times in Babylonia, Egypt, Greece and Rome, as well as the Amerindian empires in Mexico and South America.” (10:23)
• Walsh details economic, legal, and cultural realities of ancient slavery, referencing primary sources and prominent historians (Amanda Pottany, Aristotle, accounts of Athens, Sparta, and Rome). (12:40 - 15:32)
  • “Aristotle... openly declared some men are by nature free and others slaves, and that for these latter slavery is both expedient and right.” (15:55)

5. White Slavery, the Barbary Pirates, and the Forgotten Victims

• He describes episodes of white Europeans enslaved by Muslims, especially Barbary pirates and the Ottoman Empire:
  • “This is the town of Baltimore in County Cork, Ireland. The tranquility... was shattered on the night of June 20, 1631.” (22:48)
  • Graphic accounts of raids in Ireland and Iceland underline the violence and scale of Mediterranean slave-taking, with claims of over a million Europeans enslaved by North African and Ottoman powers. (26:37-32:32)
• Describes galley slavery and the extreme conditions faced by Christian captives, contrasting this with narratives that focus exclusively on Atlantic slavery. (30:34)

6. East African Slave Trade and Arab Slavery

• The little-discussed East African slave trade is highlighted for its brutality and immense scale:
  • “By some estimates, as many as 17 million East Africans were sold into slavery over 1300 years, dwarfing the transatlantic slave trade.” (38:39)
  • Extreme mortality and castration are described as routine features of the Arab slave trade. (37:12)

7. Native American Involvement and Early Colonial America

• Walsh describes Native Americans as both slavers and savage fighters, pushing back against modern depictions of indigenous Americans as peaceful victims, and recounts incidents of Native raids and white captives:
  • “The Native Americans were some of the most savage fighters ever known to man. Raiding, scalping, torturing, even eating enemies.” (41:29)
• Explores the prevalence of white indentured servitude in colonial America, arguing it was often as brutal as black slavery:
  • “‘There were not substantial differences between indentured servants and black slaves. Many were subjected to conditions of such brutality, duration, and heritability that historians increasingly regard slave as the more accurate term.’” (43:22)

8. Complexity of Slave and Slaveholder Identities

• Walsh points out that not only whites owned slaves—Black Americans and Native Americans did as well, and in some cases, owned substantial numbers. (46:18-48:02)
  • “At slavery’s peak in 1860, thousands of slaves were owned by Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks and Chickasaw Indians... One of South Carolina’s wealthiest citizens was... William Ellison... a black man.” (47:02)
  • “In total, an estimated 3,000 blacks owned roughly 20,000 slaves in 1860.” (49:26)
• He emphasizes that only a tiny minority of whites ever owned slaves—about 1.2% in 1860. (51:18)

9. Life Expectancy, Living Conditions, and the Motivation for Change

• The episode claims conditions for slaves in the U.S. were less deadly than elsewhere, with population growth among American slaves used as evidence—contrasted to the Caribbean and South America, where the slave population dwindled due to deaths exceeding births. (53:35)
• He asserts economic logic led slaveholders to value and thus provide better conditions for slaves once importation ceased. (55:14)

10. Abolition and Europe's Role

• Walsh argues European and American abolition of slavery was exceptional, both in motive and means, crediting white societies with ending an institution that had existed everywhere:
  • “In 1800, there was not a single country on earth that had abolished slavery by law. Not one. By 1900... all outlawed it. Every single abolition took place in societies under European control or heavy European pressure.” (57:18)
  • “Only one civilization ever decided the guilt outweighed the profit and bled itself dry to end it. That’s the real story they don’t teach.” (58:10)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the American role in slavery:

  • “The grand total of slaves brought to the future United States was about half the number brought only to Cuba. 472,372, or 3% of the total.” (01:40)

• On Dahomey’s brutality:

  • “Assuming you survived a Dahomey raid, which wasn’t likely, and were taken captive, it was far preferable to be sold to Europeans than to remain in Dahomey.” (05:12)

• On universal slavery:

  • “Slavery is the norm, not America’s unique shame.” (58:01)

• On white slavery:

  • “Between 1500 and 1800, the Ottomans and their North African corsairs... likely enslaved roughly a million and a half people from Christian Europe.” (32:22)

• On abolition:

  • “Only one civilization ever decided the guilt outweighed the profit and bled itself dry to end it. That’s the real story they don’t teach.” (58:10)

Important Timestamps

• 00:02 – Introduction and critique of anti-American propaganda in history teaching
• 01:19 – Cultural memory of slavery and impact on Black Americans (guest voice)
• 01:30 – Statistical breakdown of transatlantic slave trade destinations
• 02:28 – The Kingdom of Dahomey and African participation in slave trade
• 10:23 – Slavery in ancient civilizations (Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, Rome)
• 15:55 – Ancient Greek views on slaves (Aristotle quote)
• 22:48 – Barbary raids and white slavery in Ireland
• 32:22 – The magnitude of European victims in the Barbary slave trade
• 38:39 – East African slave trade and Arab castration practices
• 41:29 – Native Americans as fighters and slavers
• 43:22 – Indentured servitude and white slavery in the colonies
• 47:02 – Black and Native American slaveholders in the U.S.
• 53:35 – Conditions for slaves in America vs. the Caribbean
• 57:18 – Global timeline and scope of abolition
• 58:01 – Slavery as historical norm, abolition the exception

Tone and Language

Matt Walsh’s delivery is forceful, polemical, and often confrontational. He frequently uses vivid, sometimes graphic descriptions of violence and suffering to underscore his arguments, and he leans heavily on contrarian readings of history and contemporary culture. The tone is unapologetically direct, aiming to provoke reevaluation of accepted historical narratives.

Summary for New Listeners

Matt Walsh’s “The Real History of Slavery” is a comprehensive and contentious challenge to prevailing historical narratives about slavery in America. He insists that slavery is a near-universal human phenomenon and that European and American abolition was not only unique but heroic. Walsh argues that fixation on America’s role serves political and ideological purposes, often omitting uncomfortable truths about the broader and deeper history of human bondage across civilizations, continents, and races. Whether one agrees with Walsh or not, the episode is packed with historical claims meant to reframe the listener’s understanding of slavery’s past and its present implications for American identity and debate.