Invader Zim
25th November 2006, 19:30
I wrote this as an essay for my course. As it is about class struggle, I guess some of you maybe interested.
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During the period of 1451 and 1870, the Atlantic Slave Trade saw the importation of over 9,500,000 slaves into the Americas and other parts of the Atlantic basin.[1] The proponents of slavery were able to justify their actions by deeming the slaves to part of lesser human stock, in a letter sent to the British Parliament, the natives of Africa were described as having “no more humanity or justice, than mere brutes, but are wholly guided by their natural inclinations,”.[2] One of the results of the slave trade was the occurrence of slave insurrections and rebellions. The reasons for slaves to attempt resistance, according to historian John M. Monteiro; especially in regard to the Indian slaves native to the Americas, were bad treatment, the desire to be reunited with family, to work under a different master or simply the quest for freedom.[3] Slave insurrections occurred in the America’s both north and south, on the Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and also on the ships which transported slaves across the ocean. Arguably, the most notable of the various slave rebellions occurred during the revolutionary era of 1776 to 1825, this period saw the slave revolution in Haiti, the second Maroon war in Jamaica, large rebellions in Brazil and Venezuela and notable rebellions and conspiracies, such as those of Nat Turner and Gabriel Prosser in the newly independent United States of America. These various slave revolts and insurrections achieved varying degrees of success. Some were stopped before they even began, others began but were swiftly crushed by the authorities and others enjoyed a good deal of success. While many were unsuccessful from the perspective of the individual slaves involved in the revolt, the reaction to these uprisings, by European people within society must be taken into account and what impact these revolts had upon European policy.
Many of the individual slave rebellions, either on the main land of the Americas or on islands in the Caribbean were also failures. The case of Gabriel Prosser is an example of a failed attempt by slaves to force their masters to grant them their freedom by force of arms. Prosser planned to send one group of slaves to burn down some warehouses at one end of Richmond. He planned that while the white townsmen were distracted with the fire another group of slaves would capture the towns weapons store located at the other end of the town and a third group would capture the state governor James Monroe. Once these tasks were completed and they held the town they planned to demand the abolition of slavery in Virginia.[4] Unfortunately, for the slaves, the plan was betrayed and the rebellion was ended before it began, of seventy slaves tried for the conspiracy; twenty seven were executed.[5] The purpose of executing these slaves was two fold, firstly it sent a message to other slaves that rebellion was a pointless exercise that would result in their deaths and secondly it reassured the white population that the authorities were still able to protect them and retain control.[6] There are further examples of slave revolts in North America, all of which resulted in failure; arguably the most significant of which was the revolt led by Nat Turner which saw the deaths of a number of white people, but was soon quelled.[7]
Similar examples of failed attempts, by slaves, to revolt can be seen across the Atlantic world in the revolutionary era. In Bahia in Brazil, in 1808 some timely arrests were made which defused a major uprising in which a large slave population planned to kill the entire European population of a city.[8] These factors would suggest that the majority of the uprisings and insurrections by slaves were a failure; the authorities were on the whole quick to respond to the threats posed and were able to crush them. In the case of the uprisings in the North America, Nat Turners rebellion was perhaps the largest rebellion in the history of American Negro slavery, yet it only comprised of about seventy slaves.[9] As such, the rebellions in the United States of America lacked the strength of numbers to actually succeed, unlike the rebellion in Haiti which is said to have had up to 100,000 slaves participating.[10] In addition within the United States of America, the slave rebellions suffered from a good deal of betray, which hindered any possibility of their success.[11] However, the revolutionary era is an important period to note. Sylvia R. Frey argues that Turner and Prosser’s revolts in addition the other conspiracies in Virginia and North Carolina in 1802; mark the point when African-Americans gained a joint consciousness necessary to effectively challenge the system.[12]
Though there are numerous examples of failed slave results there are however examples of slave revolts which have been successful. In 1791 the revolution in Haiti, lead to the formation of the first “black nation state” in the New World.[13] Following a series of wars between slaves and various colonial powers, the slaves were able to create their own state under the leadership of Jean Jacques Dessalines who became Haiti’s first emperor in 1804.[14] The reason why the uprising in Haiti was as successful as it was can be attributed, at least in part, to the size of the uprising. Prior to the declaration of independence in Haiti, Haiti had been a French colony under the name of Saint Domingue. The population demography of Saint Domingue is important in understanding why the uprising was eventually successful and why it was able to draw on as much support as it did. The colony of Saint Domingue, prior to the rebellion in 1791, had a population of 475,000 people, only 40,000 of whom were European; the rest of the population was largely comprised of slaves numbering approximately 405,000 and approximately 28,000 freed men.[15] This means that for every individual white person in Saint Domingue there were at least ten slaves. So when the rebellion came, the slaves massively out numbered the white population. Once Jean Jacques Dessalines was the emperor, he was able to control an army of 49,500 men and a navy of 3,000 in order to maintain the independence of Haiti.[16] The imperial powers were not, however, prepared to give up colony lightly; the British in their attempts to capture Saint Domingue, spent approximately £10,000,000 and lost some 15,000 soldiers. [17]
In Jamaica the slave revolts, while arguably not as successful as in Haiti, certainly enjoyed a degree of success. The degree of success can be gauged by the British government’s decision to abolish slavery in its colonies, as it was considered less dangerous to abolish slavery, following the revolt than it was to maintain the institution.[18] Jamaica, like Haiti had a large slave population. Between 1789 and 1808 Jamaica was to gain, through importation, around 200,000 slaves which is approximately 10,500 per year.[19] However, Jamaica had been receiving a large number of slaves for many years prior to that point, in letters sent to the British government from the governor of Jamaica, the total number of slaves imported between 1698 and 1708 are recorded as being 44,376. [20] The result of this high level of importation of slaves in to Jamaica was that in the 17th century the ratio between slaves and white people was one white person to ten slaves.[21] By the 19th century this figure had changed to thirteen slaves to every white person.[22] The result of this high population of slaves was that Jamaican slave revolts had an average of 400 participants per incident.[23] The most serious rebellions, including the 1832 rebellion, involved in excess of 1,000 slaves.[24] The second Maroon war of 1795 to 1796 is also worth note; while the Maroons were eventually forced into negotiation with the British, they still succeeded inflicted significant losses upon them and attracted 100-250 runaway slaves to their cause.[25]
The size of the slave population, in comparison to the population of the colonialists and the success of slave revolts appear to have a direct correlation. The example of Saint Domingue, where a state was created as a result of a slave uprising, saw a large slave population and a relatively small European population. In the example of Jamaica the slave population was again much higher than that of the white population and the consistent threat of large slave revolts was at least, as already noted, in part responsible for the emancipation of slaves in Jamaica. In Brazil, which also saw some major and frequent rebellions, the slave population accounted for about 60% of Brazil’s population by 1818.[26] The slave rebellions in the United States, which were on a smaller scale than Brazil, Haiti and Jamaica were derived from a slave population of just below 700,000 in 1790, a population which is approximately 40% of the Brazilian slave population in 1800.[27]
It would appear that violent rebellion against slavery only gained significant successes in the islands of the Caribbean. When it came to violent rebellions on the mainland of the America’s, most met with failure. However it could be argued that as a collective movement, as opposed to individual attempts at freedom, the rebellions of slaves were a success in the promotion the emancipation and abolitionism. As early as the late 1730’s, European migrants were aware that the institution of slavery could perhaps threaten the security of society. William Gooch, the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, wrote to London that there were 30,000 slaves, in a population of 114,000, that could rise up on a massive scale and that this factor alone should be grounds to end the ‘unchristian traffic’ of slaves.[26] As already noted, the repeated threat of insurrection in Jamaica and the events in Saint Domingue had an impact upon British policy on slavery. Following the serious rebellion by Jamaican slaves in 1832 and the increased dangers to British interests in the Caribbean, abolitionism gained more support in Britain than it had ever enjoyed previously.[29] In addition to the problems the British faced in Jamaica, the memory of Haiti still lingered to highlight the flaws in the slave system.[30] Historian Hugh Thomas argues that, by the beginning of the revolutionary era in the 1770’s, the fear of insurrection had gained as much weight in the abolition movement as philanthropy.[31] In Brazil legislation was passed which made the importation of slaves more difficult, the motivation for this move was in part to improve relations with the British, who had ended their role in the shipping of slaves in 1807, and also because they feared another serious revolt.[32] This leads to the conclusion that even if the threat of rebellion was not a direct cause of the abolition of the slave trade and emancipation of slaves, it certainly had an impact on the support which the abolition movement gained and thus hastened the eventual emancipation of all slaves.
In conclusion, slave revolts enjoyed the most success in the places where the number of slaves vastly out numbered the white population. As such the places where the slaves had the highest relative population were the places in which slave rebellions enjoyed the most success. Areas where the slave population did not vastly outnumber the European population enjoyed the least success. As such rebellions in Haiti and Jamaica, with a large number of slaves compared to the population of Europeans, enjoyed success while the rebellions in the United States of America, which had a more significant white population, enjoyed much less success. However, if the slave rebellions and insurrections are considered from a wider perspective, the constant and increasing threat of rebellion must be taken into account. As the slave population increased so did the threat of serious revolts and European abolitionists were well aware of this. On that basis; the threat of slave rebellion did have an impact upon the eventual emancipation of slaves and the movement towards abolition gained more support.
So, on an individual basis most slave rebellions, especially on the mainland of the America’s, resulted in failure. While on Islands in the Caribbean, revolts enjoyed more success. Yet, as a wider movement, slave rebellions of the revolutionary era, whether successful or not on an individual basis, still had an impact upon the views of Europeans and can be argued to have been successful in promoting the abolition of slavery. Thus, on that basis, the slave rebellions of the revolutionary era can be argued to be a success.
Notes
1. Paul E. Lovejoy, ‘The Volume of the Atlantic Slave Trade: A Synthesis’, The Journal of African History, Vol. 23, No. 4. (1982), p. 473.
2.‘Some Further Objections Against Establishing the Trade to Africa in a Regulated Company’, Papers and Petitions Sent to Parliament, 1711-1712, number 17.
3. John M. Monteiro, ‘From Indian to Slave: Forced Native Labour and Colonial Society in São Paulo During the Seventeenth Century’, Slave Trade1500-1800: Globalisation of Forced Labour, (ed) Patrick Man, (Gateshead, 1996), p. 125.
4. James Sidbury, Ploughshares Into Swords: race, Rebellion and Identity in Gabriel’s Virginia, 1730-1810, (Cambridge, 1997), p. 6.
5. Ibid, p. 8.
6. Ibid, p. 118.
7. Herbert B. Alexander, ‘Brazilian and United States Slavery Compared’, The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 7, No. 4. (1922), p. 360.
8. Ibid, p.362.
9. H. Orlando Patterson, ‘The General Causes of Jamaican Slave Revolts’, Slavery in the New World, (ed) Laura Foner & Eugene D. Genovese, (New Jersey, 1969), p. 211.
10. David Geggus, ‘Jamaica and the Saint Domingue Slave Revolt, 1791-1793’, The Americas, Vol. 38, No. 2. (1981), p. 219.
11. Marion D. deB. Kilson, ‘Towards Freedom: An Analysis of Slave Revolts in the United States’ Phylon (1960-), Vol. 25, No. 2. (1964), p. 187.
12. Sylvia R. Frey, Water from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age, (Princeton, 1991), p. 320.
13. A. J. Williams-Myers, ‘Slavery, Rebellion, and Revolution in the Americas: A Historiographical Scenario on the Theses of Genovese and Others’, Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 26, No. 4. (1996), pp. 381-382.
14. Robert K. Lacerte, ‘The Evolution of Land and Labor in the Haitian Revolution, 1791-1820’, The Americas, Vol. 34, No. 4. (1978), p. 455.
15. Ibid, p, 449.
16. Ibid. p. 455.
17. David Geggus, ‘The British Government and the Saint Domingue Slave Revolt, 1791-1793’, The English Historical Review, Vol. 96, No. 379, (1981), p. 285.
18. Olwyn M. Blouet, ‘Earning and Learning in the British West Indies: An Image of Freedom in the Pre-Emancipation Decade, 1823-1833’, The Historical Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2. (1991), p. 392.
19. Roderick A. McDonald, ‘Measuring the British Slave Trade to Jamaica, 1789-1808: A Comment’, The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 33, No. 2. (1980), p. 254.
20. ‘An Account of the Number of Negroes Delivered into the Islands’, Papers and Petitions Sent to Parliament, 1711-1712, number 16.
21. H. Orlando Patterson, p. 212
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid, pp. 211-212.
24. Ibid, p. 212.
25. David Geggus, ‘The Enigma of Jamaica in the 1790s: New Light on the Causes of Slave Rebellions’, William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser, Vol. 44, No. 2, (1987) p. 279.
26. Herbert B. Alexander, p. 350.
27. Ibid, pp. 350-351.
28. Hugh Thomas, p. 459.
29. Olwyn M. Blouet, pp. 400-401.
30. Ibid, p. 401.
31. Hugh Thomas, p. 459.
32. Ibid, p. 610.
Bibliography
Articles
Alexander, H. B., ‘Brazilian and United States Slavery Compared’, The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 7, No. 4. (1922).
Blouet, O. M., ‘Earning and Learning in the British West Indies: An Image of Freedom in the Pre-Emancipation Decade, 1823-1833’, The Historical Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2. (1991).
Geggus, D., ‘Jamaica and the Saint Domingue Slave Revolt, 1791-1793’, The Americas, Vol. 38, No. 2. (1981).
Geggus, D., ‘The Enigma of Jamaica in the 1790s: New Light on the Causes of Slave Rebellions’, William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser, Vol. 44, No. 2, (1987).
Geggus, D., ‘The British Government and the Saint Domingue Slave Revolt, 1791-1793’, The English Historical Review, Vol. 96, No. 379, (1981).
Kilson, M. D., ‘Towards Freedom: An Analysis of Slave Revolts in the United States’ Phylon (1960-), Vol. 25, No. 2. (1964).
Lacerte, R. K., ‘The Evolution of Land and Labor in the Haitian Revolution, 1791-1820’, The Americas, Vol. 34, No. 4. (1978).
Lovejoy, P. E., ‘The Volume of the Atlantic Slave Trade: A Synthesis’, The Journal of African History, Vol. 23, No. 4. (1982).
McDonald, R. A., ‘Measuring the British Slave Trade to Jamaica, 1789-1808: A Comment’, The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 33, No. 2. (1980).
Monteiro, J. M., ‘From Indian to Slave: Forced Native Labour and Colonial Society in São Paulo During the Seventeenth Century’, Slave Trade1500-1800: Globalisation of Forced Labour, (ed) Man, P., (Gateshead, 1996).
Patterson, H. O., ‘The General Causes of Jamaican Slave Revolts’, Slavery in the New World, (ed) Foner L., & Genovese, E. D., (New Jersey, 1969).
Williams-Myers, A. J., ‘Slavery, Rebellion, and Revolution in the Americas: A Historiographical Scenario on the Theses of Genovese and Others’, Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 26, No. 4. (1996).
Books
Frey, S. R., Water from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age, (Princeton, 1991).
Kaplan, S., & Kaplan, E. N., The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, (Boston, 1989).
Sidbury, J., Ploughshares Into Swords: race, Rebellion and Identity in Gabriel’s Virginia, 1730-1810, (Cambridge, 1997).
Thomas, H., the Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440-1870, (Chatham, 1997).
Primary Sources
‘An Account of the Number of Negroes Delivered into the Islands’, Papers and Petitions Sent to Parliament, 1711-1712, number 16.
‘Some Further Objections Against Establishing the Trade to Africa in a Regulated Company’, Papers and Petitions Sent to Parliament, 1711-1712, number 17.
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During the period of 1451 and 1870, the Atlantic Slave Trade saw the importation of over 9,500,000 slaves into the Americas and other parts of the Atlantic basin.[1] The proponents of slavery were able to justify their actions by deeming the slaves to part of lesser human stock, in a letter sent to the British Parliament, the natives of Africa were described as having “no more humanity or justice, than mere brutes, but are wholly guided by their natural inclinations,”.[2] One of the results of the slave trade was the occurrence of slave insurrections and rebellions. The reasons for slaves to attempt resistance, according to historian John M. Monteiro; especially in regard to the Indian slaves native to the Americas, were bad treatment, the desire to be reunited with family, to work under a different master or simply the quest for freedom.[3] Slave insurrections occurred in the America’s both north and south, on the Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and also on the ships which transported slaves across the ocean. Arguably, the most notable of the various slave rebellions occurred during the revolutionary era of 1776 to 1825, this period saw the slave revolution in Haiti, the second Maroon war in Jamaica, large rebellions in Brazil and Venezuela and notable rebellions and conspiracies, such as those of Nat Turner and Gabriel Prosser in the newly independent United States of America. These various slave revolts and insurrections achieved varying degrees of success. Some were stopped before they even began, others began but were swiftly crushed by the authorities and others enjoyed a good deal of success. While many were unsuccessful from the perspective of the individual slaves involved in the revolt, the reaction to these uprisings, by European people within society must be taken into account and what impact these revolts had upon European policy.
Many of the individual slave rebellions, either on the main land of the Americas or on islands in the Caribbean were also failures. The case of Gabriel Prosser is an example of a failed attempt by slaves to force their masters to grant them their freedom by force of arms. Prosser planned to send one group of slaves to burn down some warehouses at one end of Richmond. He planned that while the white townsmen were distracted with the fire another group of slaves would capture the towns weapons store located at the other end of the town and a third group would capture the state governor James Monroe. Once these tasks were completed and they held the town they planned to demand the abolition of slavery in Virginia.[4] Unfortunately, for the slaves, the plan was betrayed and the rebellion was ended before it began, of seventy slaves tried for the conspiracy; twenty seven were executed.[5] The purpose of executing these slaves was two fold, firstly it sent a message to other slaves that rebellion was a pointless exercise that would result in their deaths and secondly it reassured the white population that the authorities were still able to protect them and retain control.[6] There are further examples of slave revolts in North America, all of which resulted in failure; arguably the most significant of which was the revolt led by Nat Turner which saw the deaths of a number of white people, but was soon quelled.[7]
Similar examples of failed attempts, by slaves, to revolt can be seen across the Atlantic world in the revolutionary era. In Bahia in Brazil, in 1808 some timely arrests were made which defused a major uprising in which a large slave population planned to kill the entire European population of a city.[8] These factors would suggest that the majority of the uprisings and insurrections by slaves were a failure; the authorities were on the whole quick to respond to the threats posed and were able to crush them. In the case of the uprisings in the North America, Nat Turners rebellion was perhaps the largest rebellion in the history of American Negro slavery, yet it only comprised of about seventy slaves.[9] As such, the rebellions in the United States of America lacked the strength of numbers to actually succeed, unlike the rebellion in Haiti which is said to have had up to 100,000 slaves participating.[10] In addition within the United States of America, the slave rebellions suffered from a good deal of betray, which hindered any possibility of their success.[11] However, the revolutionary era is an important period to note. Sylvia R. Frey argues that Turner and Prosser’s revolts in addition the other conspiracies in Virginia and North Carolina in 1802; mark the point when African-Americans gained a joint consciousness necessary to effectively challenge the system.[12]
Though there are numerous examples of failed slave results there are however examples of slave revolts which have been successful. In 1791 the revolution in Haiti, lead to the formation of the first “black nation state” in the New World.[13] Following a series of wars between slaves and various colonial powers, the slaves were able to create their own state under the leadership of Jean Jacques Dessalines who became Haiti’s first emperor in 1804.[14] The reason why the uprising in Haiti was as successful as it was can be attributed, at least in part, to the size of the uprising. Prior to the declaration of independence in Haiti, Haiti had been a French colony under the name of Saint Domingue. The population demography of Saint Domingue is important in understanding why the uprising was eventually successful and why it was able to draw on as much support as it did. The colony of Saint Domingue, prior to the rebellion in 1791, had a population of 475,000 people, only 40,000 of whom were European; the rest of the population was largely comprised of slaves numbering approximately 405,000 and approximately 28,000 freed men.[15] This means that for every individual white person in Saint Domingue there were at least ten slaves. So when the rebellion came, the slaves massively out numbered the white population. Once Jean Jacques Dessalines was the emperor, he was able to control an army of 49,500 men and a navy of 3,000 in order to maintain the independence of Haiti.[16] The imperial powers were not, however, prepared to give up colony lightly; the British in their attempts to capture Saint Domingue, spent approximately £10,000,000 and lost some 15,000 soldiers. [17]
In Jamaica the slave revolts, while arguably not as successful as in Haiti, certainly enjoyed a degree of success. The degree of success can be gauged by the British government’s decision to abolish slavery in its colonies, as it was considered less dangerous to abolish slavery, following the revolt than it was to maintain the institution.[18] Jamaica, like Haiti had a large slave population. Between 1789 and 1808 Jamaica was to gain, through importation, around 200,000 slaves which is approximately 10,500 per year.[19] However, Jamaica had been receiving a large number of slaves for many years prior to that point, in letters sent to the British government from the governor of Jamaica, the total number of slaves imported between 1698 and 1708 are recorded as being 44,376. [20] The result of this high level of importation of slaves in to Jamaica was that in the 17th century the ratio between slaves and white people was one white person to ten slaves.[21] By the 19th century this figure had changed to thirteen slaves to every white person.[22] The result of this high population of slaves was that Jamaican slave revolts had an average of 400 participants per incident.[23] The most serious rebellions, including the 1832 rebellion, involved in excess of 1,000 slaves.[24] The second Maroon war of 1795 to 1796 is also worth note; while the Maroons were eventually forced into negotiation with the British, they still succeeded inflicted significant losses upon them and attracted 100-250 runaway slaves to their cause.[25]
The size of the slave population, in comparison to the population of the colonialists and the success of slave revolts appear to have a direct correlation. The example of Saint Domingue, where a state was created as a result of a slave uprising, saw a large slave population and a relatively small European population. In the example of Jamaica the slave population was again much higher than that of the white population and the consistent threat of large slave revolts was at least, as already noted, in part responsible for the emancipation of slaves in Jamaica. In Brazil, which also saw some major and frequent rebellions, the slave population accounted for about 60% of Brazil’s population by 1818.[26] The slave rebellions in the United States, which were on a smaller scale than Brazil, Haiti and Jamaica were derived from a slave population of just below 700,000 in 1790, a population which is approximately 40% of the Brazilian slave population in 1800.[27]
It would appear that violent rebellion against slavery only gained significant successes in the islands of the Caribbean. When it came to violent rebellions on the mainland of the America’s, most met with failure. However it could be argued that as a collective movement, as opposed to individual attempts at freedom, the rebellions of slaves were a success in the promotion the emancipation and abolitionism. As early as the late 1730’s, European migrants were aware that the institution of slavery could perhaps threaten the security of society. William Gooch, the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, wrote to London that there were 30,000 slaves, in a population of 114,000, that could rise up on a massive scale and that this factor alone should be grounds to end the ‘unchristian traffic’ of slaves.[26] As already noted, the repeated threat of insurrection in Jamaica and the events in Saint Domingue had an impact upon British policy on slavery. Following the serious rebellion by Jamaican slaves in 1832 and the increased dangers to British interests in the Caribbean, abolitionism gained more support in Britain than it had ever enjoyed previously.[29] In addition to the problems the British faced in Jamaica, the memory of Haiti still lingered to highlight the flaws in the slave system.[30] Historian Hugh Thomas argues that, by the beginning of the revolutionary era in the 1770’s, the fear of insurrection had gained as much weight in the abolition movement as philanthropy.[31] In Brazil legislation was passed which made the importation of slaves more difficult, the motivation for this move was in part to improve relations with the British, who had ended their role in the shipping of slaves in 1807, and also because they feared another serious revolt.[32] This leads to the conclusion that even if the threat of rebellion was not a direct cause of the abolition of the slave trade and emancipation of slaves, it certainly had an impact on the support which the abolition movement gained and thus hastened the eventual emancipation of all slaves.
In conclusion, slave revolts enjoyed the most success in the places where the number of slaves vastly out numbered the white population. As such the places where the slaves had the highest relative population were the places in which slave rebellions enjoyed the most success. Areas where the slave population did not vastly outnumber the European population enjoyed the least success. As such rebellions in Haiti and Jamaica, with a large number of slaves compared to the population of Europeans, enjoyed success while the rebellions in the United States of America, which had a more significant white population, enjoyed much less success. However, if the slave rebellions and insurrections are considered from a wider perspective, the constant and increasing threat of rebellion must be taken into account. As the slave population increased so did the threat of serious revolts and European abolitionists were well aware of this. On that basis; the threat of slave rebellion did have an impact upon the eventual emancipation of slaves and the movement towards abolition gained more support.
So, on an individual basis most slave rebellions, especially on the mainland of the America’s, resulted in failure. While on Islands in the Caribbean, revolts enjoyed more success. Yet, as a wider movement, slave rebellions of the revolutionary era, whether successful or not on an individual basis, still had an impact upon the views of Europeans and can be argued to have been successful in promoting the abolition of slavery. Thus, on that basis, the slave rebellions of the revolutionary era can be argued to be a success.
Notes
1. Paul E. Lovejoy, ‘The Volume of the Atlantic Slave Trade: A Synthesis’, The Journal of African History, Vol. 23, No. 4. (1982), p. 473.
2.‘Some Further Objections Against Establishing the Trade to Africa in a Regulated Company’, Papers and Petitions Sent to Parliament, 1711-1712, number 17.
3. John M. Monteiro, ‘From Indian to Slave: Forced Native Labour and Colonial Society in São Paulo During the Seventeenth Century’, Slave Trade1500-1800: Globalisation of Forced Labour, (ed) Patrick Man, (Gateshead, 1996), p. 125.
4. James Sidbury, Ploughshares Into Swords: race, Rebellion and Identity in Gabriel’s Virginia, 1730-1810, (Cambridge, 1997), p. 6.
5. Ibid, p. 8.
6. Ibid, p. 118.
7. Herbert B. Alexander, ‘Brazilian and United States Slavery Compared’, The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 7, No. 4. (1922), p. 360.
8. Ibid, p.362.
9. H. Orlando Patterson, ‘The General Causes of Jamaican Slave Revolts’, Slavery in the New World, (ed) Laura Foner & Eugene D. Genovese, (New Jersey, 1969), p. 211.
10. David Geggus, ‘Jamaica and the Saint Domingue Slave Revolt, 1791-1793’, The Americas, Vol. 38, No. 2. (1981), p. 219.
11. Marion D. deB. Kilson, ‘Towards Freedom: An Analysis of Slave Revolts in the United States’ Phylon (1960-), Vol. 25, No. 2. (1964), p. 187.
12. Sylvia R. Frey, Water from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age, (Princeton, 1991), p. 320.
13. A. J. Williams-Myers, ‘Slavery, Rebellion, and Revolution in the Americas: A Historiographical Scenario on the Theses of Genovese and Others’, Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 26, No. 4. (1996), pp. 381-382.
14. Robert K. Lacerte, ‘The Evolution of Land and Labor in the Haitian Revolution, 1791-1820’, The Americas, Vol. 34, No. 4. (1978), p. 455.
15. Ibid, p, 449.
16. Ibid. p. 455.
17. David Geggus, ‘The British Government and the Saint Domingue Slave Revolt, 1791-1793’, The English Historical Review, Vol. 96, No. 379, (1981), p. 285.
18. Olwyn M. Blouet, ‘Earning and Learning in the British West Indies: An Image of Freedom in the Pre-Emancipation Decade, 1823-1833’, The Historical Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2. (1991), p. 392.
19. Roderick A. McDonald, ‘Measuring the British Slave Trade to Jamaica, 1789-1808: A Comment’, The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 33, No. 2. (1980), p. 254.
20. ‘An Account of the Number of Negroes Delivered into the Islands’, Papers and Petitions Sent to Parliament, 1711-1712, number 16.
21. H. Orlando Patterson, p. 212
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid, pp. 211-212.
24. Ibid, p. 212.
25. David Geggus, ‘The Enigma of Jamaica in the 1790s: New Light on the Causes of Slave Rebellions’, William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser, Vol. 44, No. 2, (1987) p. 279.
26. Herbert B. Alexander, p. 350.
27. Ibid, pp. 350-351.
28. Hugh Thomas, p. 459.
29. Olwyn M. Blouet, pp. 400-401.
30. Ibid, p. 401.
31. Hugh Thomas, p. 459.
32. Ibid, p. 610.
Bibliography
Articles
Alexander, H. B., ‘Brazilian and United States Slavery Compared’, The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 7, No. 4. (1922).
Blouet, O. M., ‘Earning and Learning in the British West Indies: An Image of Freedom in the Pre-Emancipation Decade, 1823-1833’, The Historical Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2. (1991).
Geggus, D., ‘Jamaica and the Saint Domingue Slave Revolt, 1791-1793’, The Americas, Vol. 38, No. 2. (1981).
Geggus, D., ‘The Enigma of Jamaica in the 1790s: New Light on the Causes of Slave Rebellions’, William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser, Vol. 44, No. 2, (1987).
Geggus, D., ‘The British Government and the Saint Domingue Slave Revolt, 1791-1793’, The English Historical Review, Vol. 96, No. 379, (1981).
Kilson, M. D., ‘Towards Freedom: An Analysis of Slave Revolts in the United States’ Phylon (1960-), Vol. 25, No. 2. (1964).
Lacerte, R. K., ‘The Evolution of Land and Labor in the Haitian Revolution, 1791-1820’, The Americas, Vol. 34, No. 4. (1978).
Lovejoy, P. E., ‘The Volume of the Atlantic Slave Trade: A Synthesis’, The Journal of African History, Vol. 23, No. 4. (1982).
McDonald, R. A., ‘Measuring the British Slave Trade to Jamaica, 1789-1808: A Comment’, The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 33, No. 2. (1980).
Monteiro, J. M., ‘From Indian to Slave: Forced Native Labour and Colonial Society in São Paulo During the Seventeenth Century’, Slave Trade1500-1800: Globalisation of Forced Labour, (ed) Man, P., (Gateshead, 1996).
Patterson, H. O., ‘The General Causes of Jamaican Slave Revolts’, Slavery in the New World, (ed) Foner L., & Genovese, E. D., (New Jersey, 1969).
Williams-Myers, A. J., ‘Slavery, Rebellion, and Revolution in the Americas: A Historiographical Scenario on the Theses of Genovese and Others’, Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 26, No. 4. (1996).
Books
Frey, S. R., Water from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age, (Princeton, 1991).
Kaplan, S., & Kaplan, E. N., The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, (Boston, 1989).
Sidbury, J., Ploughshares Into Swords: race, Rebellion and Identity in Gabriel’s Virginia, 1730-1810, (Cambridge, 1997).
Thomas, H., the Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440-1870, (Chatham, 1997).
Primary Sources
‘An Account of the Number of Negroes Delivered into the Islands’, Papers and Petitions Sent to Parliament, 1711-1712, number 16.
‘Some Further Objections Against Establishing the Trade to Africa in a Regulated Company’, Papers and Petitions Sent to Parliament, 1711-1712, number 17.