Date post: | 25-Jun-2015 |
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LEARNING INTENTIONS
• Describe the successes of slave resistance
• Explain why slave resistance was not always successful
Slaves fought back against their owners and captors in different ways. However, was this
resistance always effective?
Slave resistance took many different forms.
Passive resistance included being late for
work, working slowly or pretending to not
understand owners.
Active resistance included attacking
owners, damaging crops or running away.
The success of slave resistance was generally based on two
issues:
• Reduced profits for the owner
• Better treatment for the slaves
Reduced profits
An owner’s main priority was to make as
much money as possible.
By working less, running away,
damaging crops or other actions, slave owners would lose
money.
Better treatment
Owners did not want to lose money or feel
unsafe.
Some owners did improve their treatment of slaves, based on their resistance.
Others felt it was easier to use workers, not
slaves.
However slave resistance was not always effective, for five main reasons:
• Punishments• Duration of slavery
• Likelihood of capture for escaped
slaves• Problems for slaves• Owner profits
Punishments
Slaves could actively resist their owners, but this often meant that they would be
punished.
In extreme cases this could even result in them being killed.
Duration of slavery
Slaves resisted their owners throughout their lives, however slavery still existed
for around 200 years.
This suggests these rebellions had limited effect.
Likelihood of capture
Some slaves tried to escape, however almost
all returned or were captured.
On the Caribbean islands, escape was even harder as there was nowhere to go.
Once they returned they faced harsh punishment.
Problems for slaves
Many slave rebellions resulted in
the slaves getting worst treatment than before they started.
Slaves also had to go as far as killing
themselves (as on the Middle Passage).
Owners’ profits
Although slave resistance could hurt an
owner’s profits, slave owners were still very wealthy and made a lot
of money.
The fact that slavery continued for so long
proves this.
Black divide
Part of the problem that the slaves faced in rebelling was the role of other slaves.
Many owners forced slaves to become
overseers, making them in charge of
slaves.