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Resistance and rebellion - how did

enslaved people resist and fight back?

By: Ilana metler, carson fox, Jessica Courtright, Armstrong W.


Resisting and Rebelling
The Transatlantic Slave Trade, which began in the 15th
century, is an example of how cruel humanity is. The way
slaves would cope with these horrible conditions,in the
Americas, was by rebelling. They would do small scale things
such as, working slow, stealing, and speaking their native
languages, which was a way that the slaves would be able to
connect to each other. They would also rebel in bigger ways
such as running away, and killing/poisoning their masters.
Rebelling gave the slaves a sense of community, and humanity
and would allow them to feel like people, and not slaves.
How did they rebel?
One of the way slaves fought back was
running away. Running away was a very
common tactic but often not
successful.

The poster offered a reward of two


pounds and fifteen shillings to
capture and return the slave, who’s
name was Jack, back to his slave
owner. This was considered a very
Source: ‘Run Away… Jack’ advertisement high amount of money back then.
Printed in 1779 by 'Jamaica Mercury and
Kingston Weekly Advertiser'
“Cruelties of
slavery”woodcut from

Less obvious ways of rebelling


1835, Published in New
York.

Slaves would steal from their owners,


robbing them of their property. They would also destroy
machinery so it would require repairs or expensive replacement
of parts of the machinery.Slaves would intentionally work as
slowly as they could without their owners noticing or would
pretend to be sick to avoid work.If slaves were ever caught
doing this they would be punished. They would get whipped,
beaten, imprisoned, branded, and even hung. This was all
according to the slave owners.
COnsequences of Rebellion
This is a picture of a slave who attempted
to rebel but got caught and was hung
alive. This shows the the outcome of those
who fail to rebel and helps us know what
they would have to go through. This
piece of evidence is helpful because we
know how each rebelling slave was
tortured.

“A Narrative of a Five Year


Expedition” written by John Gabriel
Stedman(1792)
Southampton Insurrection
Also called Nat Turner’s
rebellion, this rebellion
took place on august 23,
1831. According to the
artifact, nat ganged up
on his owners, and killed
them. Then gathered
slaves and friends, and
started a rebellion. The
slavery was eventually
suppressed, and hanged
1831 woodcut illustrating the stages of nat turner’s
turner.
rebellion
Conclusion
Resistance and Rebellion was a huge factor of the
Transatlantic slave trade. It was a way that the slaves would
connect to each other and themself. They would run away,
kill, steal, work slowly, speak other languages,and pretend
to be sick. However the consequences of rebelling, if caught,
were tremendous. They would get beaten, torchered, and in the
end killed. Rebellion was a natural response to slave trades.
Cites
Slide1:http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php-option=com_content&view=article&id=310_resistance-and-rebellion
&catid=125_themes&Itemid=222.html

Slide2: http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php-option=com_content&view=article&id=472_run-away-jack-
advertisement&catid=147&Itemid=257.html

Slide3:http://www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/black-resistance-against-slavery/slave-resistance-at-
work/

Slide4:http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php-option=com_content&view=article&id=310_resistance-and-
rebellion&catid=125_themes&Itemid=222.html

http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php-option=com_content&view=article&id=472_run-away-jack-
advertisement&catid=147&Itemid=257.html

http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php-option=com_content&view=article&id=505_a-negro-hung-
alive&catid=147&Itemid=257.html

Slide5:https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery-iv-slave-rebellions

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/did-african-american-slaves-rebel/

https://face2faceafrica.com/article/stono-rebellion-the-largest-slave-revolt-in-america-led-by-slaves-from-kongo-in-1739

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