Premium Essay

Black American History: Slave Resistance And Their Revolts

Submitted By
Words 2020
Pages 9
Alexus Brinson
June 20th, 2015
Black American History
Slave Resistance & Their Revolts

When speaking about the rebellion of slaves or of their act of resistance, one must know the true definition of such. There were many forms from running away, theft, practicing religion, rebel, and even speaking an African language was a sign of resistance. But were these acts of resistance only to push the boundaries of freedom, in this case slowly eroding the institution? Or did the slave’s act of resistance give them the incentive to work, ultimately supporting the institution. British North America, as soon as the slaves arrived in Chesapeake is where slave resistance began. Most acts of resistance were an attempt to gain a sense of freedom in an …show more content…
The husband, James Wigton, was away from his house, the Indian came there, and from his confession, murdered Mrs. Wigton and her five children by beating their brains out with stones. “Mrs. Wigton and the youngest were not quite dead, when first discovered…. he next went to Mr. Kiester’s, where he was captured, in a desperate resistance, in which a man named Blair was seriously injured.” He was taken to trial on Wednesday the 13th, in which it resulted on Saturday in a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. In addition, I have realized that through my research the slaves had many altercations with their masters or other whites. In this case, I begin to wonder what would come of this. Yes, the slaves did resist and take drastic measures but there was never a further punishment than that of death. I ask, why did they continue to rebel against the institution, if in the end they did not win. Was it that they needed to take a more forceful approach to the situation? Indeed! This is where revolts would come into …show more content…
This was actually the only rebellion that won against the French. This rebellion was much more complex than that of any other. These revolutions were influenced by the French Revolution of 1789, which contained new concepts of the human rights, citizenship, and the participation in government. In the 18th century, Haiti became Frances wealthiest colony due to its large production of sugar, coffee, indigo, and cotton. Along with the economic growth came the increasing exploitation of the slaves who made up the overwhelming majority of the population. Their trade with Haiti, prior to and after the U.S. independence, delighted American merchants. The French Revolution had a great impact on the colony. Haiti’s white minority began to split into the Royalist and Revolutionary factions, where as the mixed-race population started to campaign for their civil

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Blacks Experience America

...Black Experience in America: Slavery to Emancipation AAAS 106 Professor Shawn Alexander KU 2011 Final Exam Study Guide Some important dates and events - Remember that this guide only gives you a chronology of important events. It is not sufficient for the exam - you must fill in the details from your lecture notes and readings. All the reading is compulsory, do not leave out any portion of the texts or articles. Slavery and the Slave Trade African Slave Trade: Conventional Dates – 1450 – 1867 Early controllers of the Trade: 1494 the Spanish turned to the Portuguese to supply slaves for their colonies. By the 17th C Northern European countries began to dominate the trade. 1621 Dutch West Indies Trading Company 1672 British Royal African Company (by the end of the 17th England dominated the trade.) The Scale of the Trade: Between 1492 and the end of the trade in 1867 Europeans transported a minimum of 10 million people in some 27,000 slaving expeditions – or some 170 slave ships per year. 50% mortality rate (rough estimate) About 95% of the captives were sent to the brutal tropical sugar growing regions of Brazil and the Caribbean. 40% Brazil 5-6% North America Before the trade picked up (1700) 2.2 million Africans had already been shipped to the Americas. The trade climaxed in the 1780s, when 80,000 Africans were shipped a year. 5/4 of all those shipped came in the 18th and 19th centuries. Three major areas in Africa supplied...

Words: 2352 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Gabriel Prosser

...of articles on... 1712 New York Slave Revolt (New York City, Suppressed) 1733 St. John Slave Revolt (Saint John, Suppressed) 1739 Stono Rebellion (South Carolina, Suppressed) 1741 New York Conspiracy (New York City, Suppressed) 1760 Tacky's War (Jamaica, Suppressed) 1791–1804 Haitian Revolution (Saint-Domingue, Victorious) 1800 Gabriel Prosser (Virginia, Suppressed) 1805 Chatham Manor (Virginia, Suppressed) 1811 German Coast Uprising (Territory of Orleans, Suppressed) 1815 George Boxley (Virginia, Suppressed) 1822 Denmark Vesey (South Carolina, Suppressed) 1831 Nat Turner's rebellion (Virginia, Suppressed) 1831–1832 Baptist War (Jamaica, Suppressed) 1839 Amistad, ship rebellion (Off the Cuban coast, Victorious) 1841 Creole, ship rebellion (Off the Southern U.S. coast, Victorious) 1842 Slave Revolt in the Cherokee Nation (Southern U.S., Suppressed) 1859 John Brown's Raid (Virginia, Suppressed) Gabriel (1776 – October 10, 1800), today commonly – if incorrectly – known as Gabriel Prosser, was a literate enslaved blacksmith who planned a large slave rebellion in the Richmond area in the summer of 1800. Information regarding the revolt was leaked prior to its execution, and he and twenty-five followers were taken captive and hanged in punishment. In reaction, Virginia and other state legislatures passed restrictions on free blacks, as well as prohibiting the education, assembly and hiring out of slaves, to restrict their chances to learn...

Words: 2239 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

The Haitian Revolution

...The Haitian Revolution was influenced initially by events in France, especially the French Revolution of 1789. According to Yvette Taylor Kanarick in Caribbean History Core Course, “The events unfolding in France were to profoundly affect the course of the St.Domingue revolution.”1 On August 26, 1789, the newly convened Estates General passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. France was divided into a rigid oppressive social class system just as St.Domingue. The first and second classes were made up of the clergy and the nobility, the third class was made up of all others from lawyers down to peasants. This unequal class structure created the atmosphere for the oppressed persons to fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, the people of St.Domingue, who were also French subjects, demanded their share of the slogan of liberty, equality and fraternity. This demand resulted in several conflicts between the different classes, which will later impact the revolt of the enslaved persons in the colony. The different classes were fighting for different reasons. The white plantocracy wanted equality with the whites in France and to rid themselves of the royalist bureaucracy to which they were subjected. The free coloureds on the other hand wanted equality with the whites politically and socially as well as an end to discriminations against them, while the enslaved people just simply grasped the opportunity to seek their freedom...

Words: 2228 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

African Diaspora

...Part 1: Question one is what is the African diaspora? (Who should be considered in the African diaspora? How is this like the black Atlantic and how is it different?). Students should use the Colin Palmer piece to answer this question. In its most recognizable form, the African diaspora refers to the many cultures and societies abroad that exist throughout the world as the result of the historic movement, mostly forced, of native Africans to other parts of the globe. Most specifically, the African diaspora is the blanket term used to represent a confluence of events that led to the forced displacement of millions of innocent people. The term first originated in the 1950s and initial studies focused on the “dispersal of people of African descent, their role in the transformation and creation of new cultures, institutions, and ideas outside of Africa”. This cultural migration is responsible for many of the unique cultures that exist today, as is with the black Atlantic and the melding of cultures. A look at the waves of migration, both forced and willing, provides a framework to study the social, economic and humanitarian fallout of the African Diaspora. Those who study the African Diaspora seek information that explains and places into context the globalized experience for blacks. This history is riddled with slavery, colonialism, exploitation and a system of global commerce that has impacted life for those of African descent. The impact of the African Diaspora is a study...

Words: 1814 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Nat Turner's Rebellion

...In the United States, slaves seldom organized a rebellion. Between 1800 and 1831, the four biggest conspiracies in American history took place. Following Gabriel's Rebellion, in 1811, a revolt on sugar plantations in Louisiana occurred. There, hundreds of armed slaves that tried to march on New Orleans were overcome by a militia and federal troops. In 1822, a slave carpenter in South Carolina, named Denmark Vesey, constructed a rebellion. In order to vindicate armed resistance, Vesey quoted the Declaration of Independence and the Bible. However, Vesey's secret plan was uncovered before it could be put into action, and he and thirty-four other blacks were put to death. Nat Turner, a Virginian slave preacher who thought that God had...

Words: 266 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Elements of African American Identity

...Elements of African American Identity The Pre slavery Era brought Africans from their homes and to the United States in 1619. The Africans were sold to white settlers in Virginia as servants who had the same legal status as white servants. Slavery took place over a span of 300 years, from the 16th century to the 19th century. Slavery practices varied by state or by region (Deep South versus border South). The experience of the slave may have differed depending on the plantation size, the number of slaves involved and the convictions of the individual slaveholder. Slavery in North America delivered the harshest form of social relations to ever exist. Slaves were considered property and not humans. The plight of the slave was doomed to extreme 12-15 hour working days and often deplorable living conditions. African American slaves were beaten, whipped and even murdered, but they kept the spirit to survive. History shows that slaves tried to revolt, always to the detriment of the participants. When the slaves saw that revolting would never work, they sought ways to escape. One such way of escape was the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was an organized effort to assist slaves attempting to escape. The Railroad was believed to have been incorporated in 1804. The Railroad was operated in defiance to the Fugitive Slave Laws and white abolitionists assisted the slaves in their cause. By the middle of the 19th century, slavery had become a serious...

Words: 852 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Historical Background of Slavery During the Civil War

...North and South including blacks and whites experienced social, economical, and political changes. it was a huge dramatical changes during this period of time. Houses, farm lands, schools, and community centers were all destroyed. All these took place during and after the civil war. After the Civil War, freedmen worried about their freedom and right. “ Their actions raised a host of questions about what rights the freedmen would be entitled to, including land ownership and voting” (Saul,Donnell, and Keen) . Also, slaves were given the opportunity to be freed from their masters. However, their freedom were still restricted. They were segregated from the whites in public places, transportation, and in school. This was as a result of slave owners who protested against slave freedom. According to history.com, “congress made enough effort to help restore back the life of the freedmen by creating the Freedmen’s Bureau in March 1865. The Freedmen Bureau took effect for a short period of time, before it was destroyed by the southerner and vetoed by Johnson on February,1866. Meanwhile, freedmen enjoyed some benefit of the Freedmen’s Bureau, such as education, food, housing, and medical services, before the Act was destroyed. However, It was after the Reconstruction act, fifteenth amendments, and Jim Crow’s laws that freemen were officially recognized as citizens of the United state, and were allowed to vote”. Furthermore, southerners augured that if slave men should gain their freedom...

Words: 1240 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Fires of Jubilee Pt 4

...Mr.Kimbrough History B20a MW 9:35 November 7, 2011 Fires of Jubilee Pt.4 In The Fires of Jubilee Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion: Stephen Oates gives an account of the brief but deadly slave revolt in and around Southampton, Virginia. His controlling theme is that of religion and the profound influence that it had on the development of Nat Turner's charismatic persona and his rationale for engaging in a project of deliberate murder of people who had at least in the context of slavery as a given of Turner's experience, treated him quite decently. The effects of Nat Turner's rebellion were profound. The insurrection of Nat Turner was inspiration for all slaves, even if just 60 whites were killed to the 140 blacks. I am impressed by his courage. The attitudes of many plantation owners changed as a result of Nat. Many people had believed that slaves would never think of hurting their "loving, Christian" master. What Nat did scared many whites tremendously. The Virginia state legislature actually debated freeing all slaves to avoid future conflict. Of course this never happened but this was the first time that such an idea had ever been discussed. Many slave holders blamed the rebellion on the abolishment movement. The same year of Nat's rebellion, William Lloyd Garrison began publishing "The Liberator". Some people attributed this to the cause of the killings. Laws were passed that forbid teaching slaves to read or write. An educated slave could be a dangerous slave. Within time...

Words: 593 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Cheik Anta Diop

...geologist, Dawson, in 1912. Dawson created a fossil with eyes and forehead of a modern man, but had a mandible and canines of a monkey. b. State the infamous name(s) associated with the fabrication that went unchallenged for decades. Scientist from different countries adopted and defended the Pre-sapiens Theory that was manufactured to indicate that the first remainders were found in Europe. 2. Look at the Cheik Anta Diop links, Part 4. a. Name the four regional groups (i.e. ethnicity, phenotype). The four regional groups that Dr. Diop mentioned are black General Type Egyptian, the General Type of all Europeans represented by the artist, General type of all the other groups of the interior continent of Africa, and General Type of all the Semites living the area of Asia. b. Identify the ethnicity of the artist The artist represented himself as the Black General Type Egyptian, so that indicates that the artist was black. c. Identify what was commonly used as artists’ signatures at that time. 3. In your own words: a. What is an Afrocentric frame of reference? An Afrocentric frame of reference refers to the centralization of Africans and the culture it developed when migrating to Western civilization. It emphasizes on African contributions to the development of the new world. 4. In Chapter 2, Karenga stresses the need for white women to stop overlooking and to recognize three aspects of their own feminism. a. Name the three aspects ignored by white women...

Words: 1564 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

La Ultima Cena

...humans are consistent in is that we do not play nice. However, for people to judge each other on a superficial and meaningless factor such as color is truly bewildering, considering all the many things that makes us different. Because of this type of judgmental mentality, superiority complexes were soon followed, putting specific groups at the top of the food chain. Sadly, those of African descendance would bare the burden of being slaves, in every meaning of the words, to a vast majority of the world due the ignorance of the human race. The movie, The Last Supper, by Tomas Gutierrez Alea depicts the interaction and relationships of the denizens of a sugar plantation in Cuba during the eighteen hundreds. All from the Count to the overseer and slaves had ways of interacting with one another, which was mostly decided on their race and social status. The movie deals with various topics that defined that era in time and there are many reoccurring themes in the movie that can be seen in other periods of time and places. In this paper, many aspects of black culture will be discussed and how they relate compare and contrast to that of whites in the particular time frame in which the movie takes place, as well as discussing modern life implications that certain customs or believes back then have on our culture. The movie from the start makes it clear that it will heavily deal with religion. The beginning opens with the portrait of angels depicted in a church....

Words: 5976 - Pages: 24

Premium Essay

Our Souls Perseverated on Freedom

...Souls Perseverated On Freedom! A Report Highlighting the Desperate Acts of Blacks as they Perseverated on Freedom 1877-Civil War Rolanda E. Lively African American History, CRN 32427 Tues-Thurs Ms. Carmen Thompson August 4, 2011 African Americans perseverated on freedom! As we explore the lives of African-Americans and their experience in the place we now call the United States of America, we will see how black people perseverated on freedom and risked their lives for freedom during the following significant historical periods; Horrifying middle passage of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Religious Great Awakening 129, and lastly the Bloody Antebellum period. The past comes back to life, through first person quotes of courageous men and women who bared their souls. We all bare witness to voices of African American Hero’s each one never shifting their gaze from the golden gates of freedom. One of the first times that we see the preservation on freedom is during the middle passage of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The middle passage is steeped in unimaginable inhumane atrocities that no person or living thing should ever endure. For many, death and suicide became viable options for freedom in the face of captivity and the unknown. The planks of the slave ships hemorrhage with the blood, flesh, tears, and screams from Africans, who endure the torture bestowed on them by the slave ship crew. Africans of all ages were shackled and packed into the belly of the...

Words: 2549 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Eli Whitney Cotton Gin, The Louisiana Purchase And The War Of 1812

...selling “surplus” slaves from the east and moving them westward would help to put an end to slavery. By the end of the revolution, it was becoming apparent that two distinct regions were forming. One of these regions was enslaved and the other was gradually becoming free. Transatlantic slave trade had been ended and tobacco lands in the Chesapeake were exhausted and needed less labor. Jefferson thought that slavery was a “necessary evil” and that slave owning was beneficent, yet he also believed that slavery could be ended. Eli Whitney quickly destroyed this “diffusion theory” dream of Jefferson’s with his invention of the cotton gin. This invention of the cotton gin completely turned the economy around and was a game changer for wealth and labor. Cotton...

Words: 1559 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Minipulated

...------------------------------------------------- Minipulated African Americans and the Revolution Nikki Jones Genesee community college History 203: Fall 2014 Nikki Jones Genesee community college History 203: Fall 2014 Manipulated: African Americans and the Revolution One of the most notable intellectual paradoxes in American history is how the founding fathers could promote the equal rights of man and their perceived enslavement by the crown while simultaneously holding a fifth of their own population in bondage. Another question that plaques the history of this great nation is why abolition, or widespread emancipation, did not occur at this period in time when revolutionary and republican rhetoric existed alongside of anti-slavery sentiments. A case can be made that Americans were speaking more loudly for the end of political enslavement, rather than the freedom of slaves themselves. The exclusion of slaves from the political forefront made it easier for Americans to make these hypocritical claims. Whether or not whites were able to justify themselves the exclusion of the black community from their cries for freedom, the parallels revolutionary rhetoric had on their own condition were not lost on slaves. Many took advantage of the revolutionary crisis and ran away and joined either side in hopes to attain their own independence. There reasons that Blacks chose to join the revolutionary fight are as varied as the individuals who made them. The motives were...

Words: 2286 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

African Diaspora

...Chapter 12: The African Diaspora in the Caribbean and Europe from Pre-emancipation to the Present Day by Roswith Gerloff Caribbean history of Christianity can be divided, with overlaps, into four main periods: the rather monolithic form of Spanish Catholicism from 1492, and of the Church of England from 1620; the arrival of the Evangelicals or nonconformist missionaries, Moravians, Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians from the mid-eighteenth century; consolidation and growth of various European denominations in the region in uneasy tension with the proliferation of independent black Christian groups and African religions in the post-emancipation era from 1833; the contest for political, economic and religious independence after 1870, including the shift from British Imperial intervention and influence to those from North America, and national independence after 1962. Contemporary studies in anthropology and sociology of religion speak of 'religions on the move', or the process of transmigration and transculturation, as it refers to dynamic, reciprocal, transitory and multidimensional creations in shaping a 'poly-contextual world'. This implies that religions have to be regarded as cultural and spiritual phenomena whose 'taken-for granted' essence1 has resulted from transcultural and transnational processes of mutual 1 Klaus Hock, University of Rostock, abstract for an essay on the African Christian Diaspora in Europe, January...

Words: 8882 - Pages: 36

Free Essay

Colonial Brazil

...The Colonial Brazil is called historical period ranging from the arrival of the first Europeans in 1500, until independence in 1822. In this period, Brazil was under the political domination of Portugal. The Portuguese colonization of America began motivated by economic and strategic reasons. On the one hand because of the economic decline of profits in the trade with the East and the commercial possibilities Brazil tree, the bark of which produced a red dye used for dyeing textiles. And among the strategic reasons, the main one was fighting Spanish or French ambitions in this area. Eventually, France and Holland won some strategic regions such as the island of Sao Luis, the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Recife, and part of the states of Pernambuco , Paraíba and Alagoas. In 1530, the Portuguese crown expelled the French who surrounded the coast of Brazil , as were lands belonging to Portugal since 1500. In 1533, King of Portugal, Joao III divided the territory of Brazil in 13 stripes or captaincies , 150 miles wide each, what influenced the privacy of Portuguese colonization . These captaincies were distributed or granted to Portuguese nobles hereditary for life... The nobles who received them committed to evangelize the natives, settlers recruit and develop economically the captaincy. The territory to be established in Brazil was deeply marked by slavery in the era of European colonization. The boundaries between Spain and Portugal were established in 1492 shortly after Spain...

Words: 3472 - Pages: 14