Forms of slave control

 Physical control - Slaves were chained together, whipped and beaten for minor offences. They
were also mutilated, hanged and burnt in public.

*Legal Control - Laws were passed in the colonies to prevent enslaved Africans from having rights. Laws
such as the Code Noir of the French Caribbean and the Siete Partidas of the Spanish Caribbean
colonies.
The Siete Partidas was a set of 13 th Century Laws meant for Spain at the time that were adjusted and
applied to the Spanish Caribbean colonies.These laws gave slaves rights to enter te Catholic church. It
was also cncerned with preserving the Catholic religion and preventing inter marriage.

*Social Control - Slaves were prevented from mixing with each other and other groups in society, they
could not move around freely and they were unable to gather in groups.

*Cultural Control - Slavs were not allowed to practise their African cultural forms. This was done to strip
them of an identity so they would be easier to control.It was for this reason that laws were passed to ban
drumming and dancing by Africans in the Caribbean. The planters also made sure that they did not buy
slaves only from one tribe since this would have made it easier for them to communicate with one another
and plan revolts.

 Divide and rule- The enslaves population was divided into different groups
and deliberate efforts were made to keep them apart. Some slaves were appointed as headmen
and drivers to keep a check on others.

*Economic Control** - Slaves were seen as property and were not supposed to own property of their own,
so the whites sometimes prevented them from owning provision land and domestic animals which they
would use to reate a side income in the Sunday market.

Psychological and ideological - Whites believed that African societies were barbaric and that blacks were
inferior beings. Slaves after years of slavery came to believe the racism and accepted white cultural
values. Back culture, religion, music and art were frowned upon and insulted. Blacks began to accept
white social divisions and some began to dislike each other. Some degrading terms used by whites to
degrade blacks were buckra, coloured, red leg and nigger
 RESISTANCE OF SLAVERY BY THE ENSLAVED AFRICANS

Causes of Slave resistance

1. The desire for freedom

2. Harsh treatment by slave masters
3. Slaves being denied some basic rights and privileges, especially those related to the supply of
food, clothing, housing and medical care.
4. Slave dislike of a particular scheme proposed by their master such as separating hem from their
families.
5. The presence of many slaves on a plantation from tribes in Africa known for being fierce.This
made it easier for slaves to come together to organise rebellions.
6. Emergence of a leader amongst the slaves who had respect of the other slaves.
7. In some islands slaves kept on practicing African religion and this served as a bond amongst
slaves.
8. The fact that on many plantations, slaves outnumbered the white settlers.
9. Owner absenteeism and the control of plantations by attorneys, managers and even overseers
who would treat slaves harsher because the owner was absent. This caused great resentment amongst
the slaves.
10. The character of the white population. They tended to be smug, arrogant, cruel and inefficient in
taking care of the slaves.
11. Geography of the island. The mountainous terrain of most West Indian islands provided ideal
areas for slaves to hide out and even set up maroon settlements if they escaped from plantation

The following pictures show slaves being cruelly treated which makes it understandable why there was
resistance by slaves.
 Types of slave resistance

(1) Non-Insurrectionary resistance/ Passive resistance - Non violent or indidvidual actions against
enslavement. There were different types of non- insurrectionary resistance, they were as follows;

 Malingering, skylarking or wasting time in the field when overseers were not looking.
 Refusal to work either individually or in groups.
 Sabotage- destruction of plantation vehicles, machineries and 'accidental' fires.
 Apathy - This is a sense of hopelessness that new slaves experiences as a result of being
separated from their homes and families. Apathy could result in slaves being unwilling to work.
 Slaves would pretend to play up to the master's opinion of them as child-like or foolish as a way
of deflecting aggression and hence get away from punishment which they would be subject to if they
acted openly aggressive.
 Faking Illnesses or deliberately prolonging a real illness after recovery. For example slaves would
continue to lie in hospital long after they had recovered. Women especially would exaggerate menstrual
difficulties and they would also breast feed their children for as long as possible to keep from doing hard
work.
 Stealing- Some slaves would steal from the plantations in order to improve their standard of living
but mostly to reduce the economic success of their masters.
 Domestic female slaves were sometimes able to poison their slave owners.
 The drum was used to transmit messages to other enslaved people on other plantations.

Methods of Resistance by enslaved women included;

 Prolonging the breast feeding and weaning periods of their babies

 Poisoning masters (especially those women who were cooks)
 Infanticide, a few slave mothers would kill their babies as soon as they were born so that they
would not live to become slaves
 Some slave women would kill the white babies and toddlers that they would have to take care of.
 Cultural resistance- Mothers would pass on African traditions to their children although the slave
masters forbade it.
 Enslaved women also used dress as a form of resistance. Their imitation of the white women was
intended to show that they were on equal footing with these women.They also tied their heads in ways
that were symbolic to slaves alone and in doing so were able to carry messages. This was especially
prevalent in the french islands.
 Acting as communicators between slaves on different plantations who were planning rebellions
(especially at the Sunday Market where slaves from different plantations would meet).
 Running away and joining Maroon settlements.
 Concubinage- Some slave women would use their sexuality and their bodies to get into sexual
relations with the planters/ slave masters so that they would be able to improve their daily condition by
getting such benefits as better meals, better accommodation and better opportunities for their mixed race
children who were always born free. They would also use their concubine status to undermine the role of
the planter's wife and increase their own status.

Impact of resistance by enslaves women on the Emancipation process

 Female slaves played a significant role in cultural resistance, for example through dress.
 Some enslaved women emerged as leaders in the resistance movement, for example Nanny of
the Jamaican Maroons was a notable military leader.
 Enslaved women played a significant role in undermining the entire system of slavery by acting
as communicators.During the Sunday markets, for example, enslaved women spread information on
planned revolts and other uprisings

(2) Insurrectionary resistance or active resistance- violent actions against enslavement carried out by
groups.

The main insurrectionary form of resisitance was slave revolt.

The first revolt on a sugar colony happened in 1656, on the French island of Guadeloupe.There were
more revolts as time went on with each century having more revolts than the last. This was because as
time went on there were more Creole slaves (slaves born in the Caribbean) than African slaves which
made communication easier and also saw that any ancient African rivalries amongst different tribes did
not get in the way of organising revolts.

Below is a table showing revolts by century in the British Caribbean.

CenturyTotal Revolts

17th 15

18th 36

19th 23