Violent Rebellion

Thesis statement:

Violent rebellion was the most extreme method adopted by enslaved men and women to resist slavery, there are however, less extreme measures, which have also aided vitally, and contributed to the dismantling of the slave system.

Introduction.

The white plantation owners subjected the enslaved men and women to high levels of brutality and cruelty. This in turn resulted in the slaves feeling oppressed and deprived of basic human rights. Their lifestyle was deplorable and they were made to endure conditions that were unfit for any degree of living matter, above all, the enslaved lost their rights to freedom. They were deprived of family life, proper food, clean and sanitary conditions, the right to practice and indulge in their religion and culture, and they were treated as despicable beasts of burden. Slaves were overworked and allowed no personal privileges. They all experienced a loss of individualism and a lack of identity as they were yoked into adapting Christianity and the European ways of living. As though the denial and public humiliation of their culture was not enough, the enslaved were subjected to a great degree of torture, mutilation and were also made to endure harsh cruel punishments, which often disfigured them of led to their death. In order to rise above this strife, slaves began to fight back, violent rebellion was the most extreme method adopted by enslaved men and women to resist slavery, there are however, less extreme measures, which have also aided vitally, and contributed to the dismantling of the slave system. Slaves no longer conformed to the norms and they did not believe in the proclaimed rights of the whites over the blacks. No matter what the circumstances were, slaves always found ways of resistance that were both insurrectionary and non- insurrectionary, and thus the slaves contributed to the dismantling of the slave system. It is important to note that non- insurrectionary resistance did play a major role and was even as effective as violent or extreme measures.

Throughout history, in the plantation system, there have been a few revolts that have altered and aided in the dismantling of the plantation system. Some of these historical events include: Tacky’s rebellion of 1760, The Berbice Rebellion of 1763 and the Haitian Slave Revolt (1791 -1804).

In the year 1760, an African named Tacky aimed at an all out massacre of the whites. Tacky’s rebellion began when a small party stole into a fort, seized muskets and set off across the estates1.