Slave Resistance Research Paper

Slave resistance by kiara gundy

Thousands of enslaved individuals formed a mutiny that would later on revolutionize rights of africans, and set the stepping stones needed for a better future for the many generations next to come out of those in the slavery era. Do you ever hear those stories of about famous people who have rebelled against more powerful than them? Well this is one of those kind, except instead of a story about one person who went through such great lengths to stand up against all odds. This type is with thousands of those individuals fighting for a chance to save not one person but the millions suffering from the enslavement of a whole species of humans physically and mentally abusing and misusing them for their own gain
as animals.

I want to tell you about the slave resistances that happened from all over the enslaved countries not just the few wided talked about like southern states but instead those from all over so you have a more wider and broader view of slavery. One type of slave resistance i want talk about is running away. As often as it did happen most of the time it was not very successful and lasted for only short periods of time. The reasons slaves used this method was either to escape a punishment, for relief from the heavy workloads or to just escape the everyday life of under slavery. Some were able to escape permanently, especially when the northern states began to abolish slavery after the revolutionary war it would became a symbol of freedom to slaves to go north.
A second common form of resistance was day-to-day acts or small acts of rebellion.
This included sabotage of breaking tools, setting fires to building, feigning illness, playing dumb, or slowing down work. Both men and women faked illness to gain relief from the harsh conditions. Women more easily than others as they were expected to provide children for the owners. The third popular form of resistance is slave rebellions, some popular ones include the stono rebellion of 1739, and nat turner’s rebellion in 1831 are prominent slave revolts in history. Now you know the basics of the types of slave resistance there is can begin to go into more depth of what some
were.

One rebellion of different proportions i want to to introduce you to is one that occurred in the caribbean, namely the saint domingue -rebellion. Saint domingue was controlled by french, and had the largest enslaved population in caribbean. They created the world's richest colony of half a million enslaved africans which produced more than 30% of the world's sugar and half or more of its coffee. As you would expect slavery was just as harsh there as anywhere else. I would think maybe just a little worse, slaves lived in windowless huts, were over-worked and underfed. And some owners even put tin mask on slaves to keep from chewing the sugar cane and as usual were whipped regularly had salt, pepper, and hot ashes poured into bleeding wounds. The rebellion began when french planters would not grant the free men of colour citizenship, like decreed by the national national assembly of france. Till a campaign organised by a wealthy, free man, vincent oge, to claim voting rights for coloured people but in october 1790, was brutally crashed. To which lead to another rebellion in 1791 when the enslaved africans attacked the plantation buildings with hooks, machetes, and torches. And they set fire to everything connected to their hatred work on sugar plantations. This rebellion sent the shock waves throughout europe, that meant european men and women were killed in hundreds. With the french soldiers confident as ever in putting down the uprising as they had defeated many small revolts in the past. But within a space a two months rebels had burned more than one thousand plantations and controlled a large part of north colony. Toussaint l’ouverture emerged as their leader with a great majority of his troops being african born. The french government agents went to move to abolish slavery in the colony during august-october 1793. But the national convection eventually did vote to abolish slavery throughout all territories of the french republic on february 4, 1794. This one is a most important and successful led by toussaint l'ouverture, 500,000 enslaved africans and the free people in st. domingue defeated the armies of three of the major european state powers: france, spain, and britain and went establish their own independent republic, haiti in 1804.

The next rebellion is the rebellion of barbados in 1816, the island of barbados was under british control.
And for a long time while under them had no slave rebellions for over a hundred years. That was until one broke out in 1816, it shocked plantation owners and within the first few hours had managed to spread across a third of the island and enslaved people on 70 plantations were in revolt. The revolt leaders were african slave bussa, and domestic servant nanny grigg. The rebellion was very well carefully executed by senior enslaved people all across the the island. The goal was to overthrow british planters, gain freedom, and create a better life for black and coloured people around. It was then that by the time solider were able to had crushed the revolts, it seemed a quarter of the island's sugar cane crop had already gone and been burned up in smoke. nearly 1000 rebels were killed, after the rebellion 214 more had been executed and 123 went transported off from the island to be sold elsewhere as slaves. With this being the first rebellion in 124 years to result in battle between enslaved people, the planters and first west india regiment. The leader bussa was however killed in battle and the revolt quelled to the superior weapons used of the army. But still managed to go down the island's history to have changed social and political
climate.