Indigenous and African people have had similar experiences in the past which have shaped and transformed their history, culture, and society in many ways. During these experiences, both African and Indigenous people have used different forms of resistance in order to escape European colonialism and slavery. For Europeans, slavery was a major factor in their economic success. Millions of African and Indigenous slaves suffered at the expense of European settlers. The objective of the Europeans was to strip African and Indigenous people of their land, possessions, dignity, and even their lives in order to benefit themselves. Given the results of slavery and a look at the society in which we live today, this objective was not a complete success. Some forms of resistance were impactful, while others caused more harm than good. African slaves have been shown to use more secretive forms of resistance while Indigenous slaves used more open forms. Considering the various forms of resistance that African slaves used in comparison to the forms that Indigenous slaves used, and the outcome of this resistance, it can be stated that African slaves were far more victorious in their endeavours for emancipation than Indigenous slaves were. The land that Indigenous people occupied was highly sought after by Europeans for economic activity, as it contained commodities and people who they established as cheap and productive labour (Beckles and Shepard, 118.) Because of this, the Indigenous people were mistreated, enslaved, and stripped of their own land and freedoms. They were forced to work under conditions which led to the death of much of the population with causes such as malnutrition, starvation, and outbreaks of disease. As a result of this mistreatment, Indigenous people in the Caribbean mainly used open strategies of resistance such as attack on the white masters or warfare. The Kalinago people, specifically, attempted to carry out many Guerrilla war-like attacks against the European settlers, killing and capturing people of importance and destroying houses and crops as plots of revenge for the loss of possessions, culture, and traditions that they experienced (Beckles, 120.) Most Kalinago and Indigenous resistance was in efforts to resist land confiscation, and preserve the political and personal freedoms that were being taken away from them. With Indigenous slaves proving to be less productive as the Europeans anticipated, African slaves were soon the object of their desire. Africans were physically more built for harsh labour, and more accustomed to working in the environmental settings of the Caribbean. African men were seen as superior in endurance, docile, and had a higher capacity for labour (Williams, 20.) This made them highly valued for their ability to have positive impact on the European economy. African slaves used different strategies of resistance to avoid their commodification than Indigenous slaves did. Rather than overt forms of resistance, Africans usually used more covert forms. This included slaves malingering, appearing to be ignorant, silent sabotage, suicide and injuring themselves, pretending to be ill, and poisoning of animals, masters, and crops. These strategies tended to be more successful than strategies of open revolt because slaves were aware that in order to survive and live an “easy” life, acceptance and cooperation was often necessary. The consequences of open revolt, if caught by slave masters, were usually dire (Lewis, 175.) Work was often easier and less stressful over time on slaves who appeared to be obedient than on slaves who were disobedient. Marronage was also a common strategy; however this did not always turn out for the best for the slaves. Less radical ways of resistance were used, such as the use of native language in song or dance, to tease or provoke the slave masters without their knowledge. Language in song and dance was also used to preserve the culture and traditions which Europeans were trying to rob from the Africans. For Africans, armed revolt or rebellion was much less frequent than concealed forms of resistance. This could be seen as African slaves surrendering, or not showing that they would stand up for their beliefs, however that raises the question of what was the better option; to die fighting for your rights, freedoms, and beliefs like the Indigenous people did, or to surrender, accept the situation that you were put in, and hope that by doing so, you were able to live a little while longer. Female resistance was also very important to the history of the emancipation of slaves in the Caribbean. What accounted for the different ways in which female slaves resisted is the physical, mental, and sexual abuse, along with the strenuous field work that they were forced to endure by the white masters while they were enslaved. White masters found female African slaves very sexually desirable, which gave African slaves little say in the way their bodies were used. However, enslaved African females sometimes used this to their advantage. Knowing that they were such desirable beings, some female slaves took to extreme measures such as self-mutilation, suicide, infanticide and unsafe abortion to prevent children born from white masters from becoming enslaved. Some women went so far as to remove necessary body parts used for child birth (Shepard, 169.) This helped to reduce the amount of enslaved Africans as fewer children were being born, making economic growth for the Europeans more difficult. Given the history and present population of both groups, it can be stated that the tactics used by Africans as resistance were far more successful than those of the Indigenous. The differences in these strategies differed greatly from one group to the other. African slaves used creativity and deception, while Indigenous slaves reacted quickly and aggressively on the strong ill feelings they had towards the Europeans about losing their homeland and personal control. An example of this would be the attack that was led by Cacique Hatuey in Cuba in the year 1511. He was quickly caught and burnt alive. In 1529, Indigenous people led another uprising which also ended in high fatality rates of Taino people (Beckles, 118.) These kinds of revolts were unsuccessful and ineffective because Indigenous societies did not have the necessary resources to take on European militia. The Europeans were armed, had power, force, and technology that the Indigenous people did not. African slaves on the other hand, resisted in ways which their capabilities would allow them. An example of this would be slowing down their work habits. This did not physically harm the Europeans, but it did harm them where it mattered most; economically. This was a more effective strategy because Europeans stayed oblivious to the Africans’ ill intent, but their pockets still suffered. Although there were more differences, enslaved Indigenous and African people did resist in some common ways. Discussed earlier was the strategy used by the Africans called Marronage. This meant that slaves would band together and flee to create communities of their own. Similarly, Indigenous slaves sometimes used this tactic also. The major problem with this strategy was that the clear defiance of the slaves angered the white masters. Many of the runaways who were found were usually brutally beaten and hurt, or entire groups of people were attacked by armed forces, which began to cause a rapid decline in the population. Even though both Indigenous and African slaves resisted European colonialism, it is apparent simply by looking at the population of the society in which we live in today, that one group was more successful in their actions than the other. The difference between the fight of Indigenous and African slaves were that Indigenous slaves were fighting more to preserve their cultural heritage and traditions, while the Africans were fighting more for basic survival. Africans were new to the land and had no sense of direction or navigation, while the Indigenous were very familiar with the land. In a sense, it was safer for Africans to stay enslaved because they were vulnerable in a new, unknown setting and remaining in slavery would ensure them a place to sleep and eat. Escape would mean that they would need to provide for themselves, with little to no knowledge of their surroundings, any dangers that might exist, and how to live in a place so foreign to them. Indigenous people knew the way of the land, and exactly how the basic needs of survival could be met if they could manage to overcome the European settlers. Africans have strived and overcome slavery, however mostly at the cost of accepting the rules of others. They still exist today in the Caribbean and all over the world, and have even influenced other cultures with their traditions, which cannot so easily be said for Indigenous people. The objective to eliminate Indigenous people and their culture had a great impact on Indigenous society, as it almost eradicated the Indigenous race, leaving very few to create new generations (Joseph, 215.) Today, not many Indigenous people are present in mainstream Caribbean society. The ones who do still exist have created their own communities where life is full of economic hardships, and where they experience emotional suffering, while African have blossomed and rooted themselves into society where they are embraced and seen as individuals with equal opportunity.

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Garnette, Joseph. "Five Hundred Years of Resistance". The Indigenous People of the Caribbean 1997: 214-222.
Lewis, Gordon K. "The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries: The Antislavery Ideology". Main Currents in Caribbean Though: The Historical Evolution of Caribbean Society in Its Ideological Aspects, 1492-1900 1983: 171-205.
Shepard, Verene. "Petticoat Rebellion?: The Black Woman's Body and Voice in the Struggles for Freedom in Colonial Jamaica". In the Shadow of the Plantation: Caribbean History and Legacy 2002
Williams, Eric. “The Origin of Negro Slavery”. Capitalism and Slavery 1964: 3-29