Resistance to oppression
Resistance to oppression can take many forms. There is considerable evidence of African resistance to the Transatlantic Slave Trade and enslavement on or off the coast of Africa, during the middle passage, and in the UK, Caribbean and Americas.
Fighting against capture and enslavement
Former slaves like Olaudah Equiano wrote about resisting capture, while writers such as Ignatius Sancho tell of the mistreatment of enslaved people and their fight against it.
Escape at sea
Ship’s logs and accounts of sailors such as Alexander Falconbridge show the determination of many Africans to rise up and fight their captors, to attempt suicide rather than bear enslavement, or their refusal to eat, follow orders or co-operate.
There are recorded cases of free Africans attacking slavers and liberating the captured such as the attack on the ship Jolly Bachelor in the Sierra Leone River in 1740. Other evidence shows that some uprisings at sea were successful, such as that on The Adventure off West Africa in 1753.
Keeping a distinctive identity
We know Africans who were captured managed to keep alive oral and cultural traditions – an important and influential part of resistance.
The image of a spatula is an extremely good example of one way people resisted and maintained their cultural identity through craftwork. An object used in the preparation of food could have been a stick. However, time and care was taken to create a beautiful utensil.
Maintaining artistic, aesthetic, spiritual, oral and musical traditions was an essential part of resistance during slavery. Subsequently, it also shaped many aspects of contemporary Caribbean and American culture such as capoeira, carnival, blues and jazz.
Breaking free from the plantations
We know from the many advertisements offering rewards for the capture and return of runaway slaves in 18th-century Caribbean newspapers that escape was a major issue for the slavers. We also know that enslaved people on plantations in America developed complex escape routes to help escapees make their way to freedom in the north.
For example Harriet Tubman and others were responsible for the 'Underground Railroad'. This route enabled slaves from plantations in the southern states of the USA to escape to freedom in the north.
Tools or weapons
The plantation owners had to give their slaves machetes to clear land, control weeds and cut crops, but a sharp blade could be used as a deadly weapon to threaten or kill overseers. Slaves also acquired guns to support major rebellions, as on St Domingue (Haiti) in 1791.
Suppressing rebellion
Discouraging resistance and escape was a key element of the slave owner’s and overseer’s work. Posters offering rewards for escaped slaves show:
- the value of the escapee
- the need to return him or her in order to discourage others
- and a desire to stop more organized revolts developing.
There were many major uprisings, including those Antigua in 1736, Tobago in 1801 and Trinidad in 1805. After each incident dozens of slaves were executed, usually by hanging or burning alive.
The Maroons
The Maroons of Jamaica maintained their freedom escaping from plantations and forming communities in the hills. They defended themselves against recapture by reaching agreements with colonial governments to return runaways.
The Maroons helped defeat a group of newly arrived enslaved Africans in 'Tacky's Rebellion' in Jamaica, in 1760. It was led by Tacky, who had been an enslaved plantation worker. Over 400 enslaved people were killed and 600 deported as a result. This is one of many examples of slave rebellion during the era of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Also of interest
- Atlantic Worlds – A gallery exploring the relationships between Britain, Africa and the Americas, 1600-1850