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Caribbean History CSEC Section B: Resistance & Revolt

Systems of Slave ControlNon – Violent (Passive) Resistance and Violent (Active)

Resistance.A Lesson prepared by Christopher Humber B. Ed (UWI),

Teach Dip (Mico)© August 2006.

Systems of Slave Control in the BWI

• Physical• Sexual• Social• Psychological• Economic• Legal

Examples Control Mechanism

• 1756 Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica in his diaries logged in that he loved to control the slaves by physically and sexually abusing them.

• In 1842 on the 5th of February Pierre DeSalles in Martinique took half day on Saturday to have his way with the slaves.

Non – violent or Passive Resistance Defined.

• PASSIVE RESISTANCE may be defined as the subtle methods used by the slaves to express their rejection of slavery.

• It is not easily detected.

• Usually by the time the authorities realise what is happening the procedure is in its final stage.

Non – violent Resistance• Majority of the enslaved people used non violent methods to resist the

oppressive planters. They used the following methods:• Grand Maroonage (running away)• Maritime Maroonage in the Eastern Caribbean ( fled as stowaways on

ships)• Suicide• Malingering (time wasting or go slow)• Poisoning • Pretend being sick • Ill treating estate animals.• Sabotage

Violent Resistance

• Revolution or Rebellion

• Strike

• Poisoning planter and Family

TYPES OF PASSIVE RESISTANCE

SUICIDE

• The African slaves in particular believed that after death their spirit returned to Africa.

• They were, therefore, willing to obtain the ultimate and irreversible freedom.

• The Ebos, it is argued, were more prone to committing suicide.

• It also became gender specific.

MALINGERING

• This is known as 'go slow'.

• The slaves would deliberately work slower or below their productive capacity.

• This was particularly effective at harvest time when a few hours behind schedule could make a world of difference in the level of profit realised.

ILL-TREATMENT OF ESTATE ANIMALS

• The slaves would deliberately wound the estate animal with intent to harm or kill them.

• It would cost the master a pretty penny to replace these animals. Of course, the kind of accomplishment that the slave would feel when, in the short run, the planter/overseer is alarmed as the animal 'drops dead' or is unable to turn the mill at harvest time because of a wound to its leg.

MURDER BY POISON

• Arsenic was probably the most common form of poisoning but the slaves also used 'potions' that they obtained from the obeah men, as well as their own concoction from trees and shrubs. For example, in 1774 an overseer on a Barbadian plantation was murdered (poisoned) by his slaves.

Maroonage• RUNAWAYS

Running away or 'pulling foot' was a fairly common means of resistance. • What were the factors that made running away successful for the slave? • Colonies with hilly interiors such as Grenada or St. Lucia or mountains (Jamaica the

Cockpits) or dense forested interiors (British Guiana). Remember that the last two colonies boasted the presence of Maroon and Bush Negro villages. St. Lucia's runaways were called brigands while Dominica and St. Vincent also had sizeable maroon communities.

• Neighbouring territories such as Cuba and Puerto Rico were viewed as cities of refuge. Runaways could slip away on one of the many ships that plied the Caribbean waters doing trade.

• In the crowded busy harbours, ports and towns of the cities Bridgeport, Port of Spain, Kingston, etc., fugitives could easily pass as free men. In a few cases, the cost of recapturing the fugitive delayed the recapturing process and that delay offered the slave an excellent chance to make his or her get away. The planters had to underwrite the cost of advertisement in the press, or use posters in public places. In addition, he had to fit out an expedition party to search for the fugitive. This was very costly and it was arguably cheaper (depending also on the length of time it took to recapture the slave) to just buy another slave to replace the escapee.

E –Work must be emailed.

• Discuss the factors that discouraged the slaves from running away. Look at both Antigua and Barbados. They present two different interesting scenarios.

• Pretend that you are the owner of a fugitive slave. You have been granted permission to mount a poster in the town square. Design this poster taking care to make it attractive while including the vital information. Suggest which set of slaves would most likely be able to poison the master/overseer. Give reasons for your answer.