#1. 12 Years a Slave (2013)

Storyline: Based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty personified by a malevolent slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

Plot Keywords: slave, slave trader, abolitionist, master, african-american, love interest, dark ...

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#2. The Field (1990)

Storyline: "Bull" McCabe's family has farmed a field for generations, sacrificing endlessly for the sake of the land, and when the widow, who owns the field, decides to sell the field in a public auction, McCabe knows that he must own it. But while no one in the village would dare bid against him, an American with deep pockets decides that he needs the field to build a highway. The Bull and his son decide to convince the American to give up bidding on the field, but things go horribly wrong.—Kathy Li

Plot Keywords: farmer, son, american, priest, idiot, somber, winsome ...

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#3. Zarafa (2012)

Storyline: The plot of the film has a grandfather telling his grand kids the story of Maki, a young boy who escapes from slave traders, befriends a giraffe (the title character), cross the desert, meet a pirate, and a few other things on a trip that takes him from Africa to Paris.—Odin

Plot Keywords: giraffe, baby, slave trader, emotional, france, desert, journey ...

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#4. Unconquered (1947)

Storyline: In 1763, felon Abby Hale is sentenced to slavery in America. In Virginia, heroic Capt. Holden buys her, intending to free her, but villain Garth foils this plan, and Abby toils at Dave Bone's tavern. Garth is fomenting an Indian uprising to clear the wilderness of settlers, giving him a monopoly of the fur trade. Holden discovers Garth's treachery, but cannot prove anything against him. Can Holden and Abby save Fort Pitt from the Senecas? Many hairbreadth escapes.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: captain, slave trader, heroine, slave, native american, friend, tense ...

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#5. Thousand Pieces of Gold (1990)

Storyline: In 1880's China, young Lalu is sold into marriage by her impoverished father. Rather than becoming a bride, Lalu ends up in an Idaho gold-mining town, the property of a saloon owner who renames her China Polly and plans to sell her as entertainment for the locals. Refusing to become a whore, Lalu ultimately finds her own way in this strange country filled with white demons.—Kelley O.

Plot Keywords: young woman, slave trader, bar owner, partner, townsperson, gutsy, passionate ...

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#6. Adanggaman (2000)

Storyline: In West Africa during the late 17th century, King Adanggaman leads a war against his neighboring tribes, ordering his soldiers to torch enemy villages, kill the elderly and capture the healthy tribesmen to sell to the European slave traders. When his village falls prey to one of Adanggaman's attacks, Ossei manages to escape, but his family is murdered except for his captured mother. Chasing after the soldiers in an effort to free her, Ossei is befriended by a fierce warrior named Naka.—Sujit R. Varma

Plot Keywords: king, african, slave trader, young man, mother, soldier, disheartening ...

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#7. Harriet (2019)

Storyline: Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, Harriet tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.—Focus Features

Plot Keywords: freedom fighter, slave, slave trader, civil rights activist, civil rights leader, racist, cheery ...

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#8. Band of Angels (1957)

Storyline: Living in Kentucky prior to the Civil War, Amantha Starr is a privileged young woman. Her widower father, a wealthy plantation owner, dotes on her and he sends her to the best schools. When he dies suddenly however, Amantha's world is turned upside down. She learns that her father had been living on borrowed money and that her mother was actually a slave and her father's mistress. The plantation is to be sold to pay off her father's debts and as the daughter of a slave, Amantha is also to be sold as property. She is bought by a Louisiana plantation owner, Hamish Bond and over time she grows to love him until she learns he was a slave-trader. She tries again to become part of white society but realizes that her future lies elsewhere.—garykmcd

Plot Keywords: plantation owner, slave trader, daughter, passionate, fiery, kentucky, united states ...

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#9. The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)

Storyline: Peaceloving blacksmith Marcus refuses lucrative offers to fight in the arena...until his wife dies for lack of medical care. His life as a gladiator coarsens him, and shady enterprises make him the richest man in Pompeii, while his son Flavius (who met Jesus on a brief visit to Judaea) is as gentle as Marcus once was. The final disaster of Marcus and Flavius's cross purposes is interrupted by the eruption of Vesuvius.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: slave trader, blacksmith, son, fortuneteller, gladiator, pontius pilate, touching ...

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#11. His Majesty O'Keefe (1953)

Storyline: In 1870, Yankee sea captain O'Keefe finds himself stranded after a mutiny on the Micronesian island of Yap, where the financial potential of copra (dried cocoanut) excites him. But a German company already has a monopoly...and very low production because hard work is alien to dwellers in paradise. On a later voyage, between affairs with island maidens, O'Keefe struggles to find the key to the wealth of Yap. But before he can carve out the empire of his dreams, he must also contend with assorted villains...—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: sea captain, trader, medicine man, chief, slave trader, love interest, confident ...

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#12. Nate and Hayes (1983)

Storyline: It's the late nineteenth century in the South Pacific. Bully Hayes considers himself a pirate with morals and standards, and while he has never flown the skull and crossbones, he has dealt in illegal trade, albeit never having swindled or killed anyone who didn't deserve it. It is after one of those trading missions with a native tribe gone wrong that he is arrested "by an old friend" under Spanish law for attempting to sell arms to the enemy, a crime punishable by hanging. Awaiting his fate in a dank prison cell, he tells his lawyer how he came to this situation. What Bully specifically tells him is the last escapades aboard his former beloved ship, the Rona, the long voyage transporting New Englander Nathaniel Williamson and his British fiancée Sophie to their South Pacific mission where they were to be married before bringing the word of God to the natives. Earnest Nathaniel disliked him from the beginning due to the harmless or not so harmless flirtation between him and Sophie. Before Nathaniel and Sophie married, the mission was massacred, and by the time Nathaniel, one of the few survivors, regained consciousness, Sophie was gone, he believed at Bully's hands. Alone, Nathaniel, without the necessary survival skills, went looking for Bully and Sophie. Nathaniel, within an inch of his life, eventually found Bully - or in reality Bully found him, convincing him that it was probably his former business partner, the unscrupulous Ben Pease, who massacred the mission and kidnapped Sophie. So Bully and "Nate" joined forces to locate Ben and Sophie as Bully recognized his feelings for her and as Nate recognized her feelings for Bully. They discovered that Ben was working in cooperation with the Germans who were trying to set up a South Pacific outpost for global reach, and were probably going to use Sophie as a trading item to purchase an island from the natives who used maidens like Sophie as a sacrifice to their God. Nate and Bully and their crew had to save Sophie before she was used as a sacrifice, which meant needing to defeat Ben, the Germans and the natives of that island. The outcome of this tale will have an effect as Bully ultimately takes the walk to face the noose.—Huggo

Plot Keywords: pirate, couple, beautiful woman, slave trader, kidnapper, enemy, engaging ...

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#13. Island of Doomed Men (1940)

Storyline: Sadistic Stephen Danel owns a penal island, and when he is not humiliating and mistreating his wife, he is torturing his convict prisoners and using them for slave labor. Government agent Mark Sheldon is sent to infiltrate the island and bring Danel to justice.—Ken Yousten <kyousten@bev.net>

Plot Keywords: slave trader, wife, secret agent, cook, prison guard, inmate, disturbing ...

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#14. Morgan the Pirate (1961)

Storyline: Purchased as a slave in the Panama market by the Dona Inez, daughter of the Spanish Governor, Welshman Sir Henry Morgan soon finds himself in love with the young woman. Soon after however he commandeers the ship transporting him and other slaves and soon they are the scourge of Caribbean looting and attacking the mighty Spanish Empire. The pirates soon find themselves acting under the authority of the English and Morgan has only one goal: to attack and take control of Panama.—garykmcd

Plot Keywords: english gentleman, wealthy woman, governor, slave trader, pirate, parent, thrilling ...

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#15. Killers of Kilimanjaro (1960)

Storyline: At the end of the 19th century,during the German colonial rule,railway engineer Robert Adamson is sent to the Kilimanjaro Region to find out why the railroad construction works have stalled.On the ship taking him to Africa he meets a young East African boy,Pasha, returning home to Africa from his school in the UK.Adamson also meets a young woman,Jane Carlton,traveling to East Africa to find her missing father who was one of the railroad engineers. Adamson strikes a strong friendship with both.He promises to the young native boy a ride on the train once the railroad is completed and also promises to the young lady to help her find her missing father.Once he arrives in Africa, Adamson finds out that a competing German railroad company will cause him trouble and prevent him from finishing his railroad.He also finds out that his planned route for the new railroad is passing through some very unfriendly and dangerous native tribal areas.On top of everything he still has to help Miss Jane Carlton find her missing father.—nufs68

Plot Keywords: engineer, daughter, fiancée, young boy, father, slave trader, thrilling ...

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