HISTORY ASSIGNMENT:

Resistance and Revolts

1. Differentiate between Resistance and Revolts

To begin with, a group’s ability to resist or refuse to oblige to a higher authority refers to a
resistance. A resistance can include a rebellion, or a disturbance in response to the demand of a
person in higher authority. On the other hand, revolt, also referred to as a revolution, is a
sequence of violent or non-violent acts with the aim of defeating a higher authority. Therefore,
the difference between resistance and revolts is that despite the amount of injustice or cruelty
experienced by the resisting group their intention would never be to overthrow their authority,
whilst in a revolting group or a revolution, their paramount objective is to overthrow the
authority.

2. Describe in no less than 500 words of the on-going struggle between the enslaved and
their enslavers which thus came to shape the form of plantation society.
 The Africans, as we all know were brought as slaves to the Caribbean and Americas by
European plantation owners. The reason being was the African people were already built to
endure harsh climatic conditions and hours of hard labour, unlike the Europeans.
On the plantations, the Africans were taken advantage of and treated inhumanely. The
Europeans did not consider them as human, hence they treated them in a cruel manner. Due to
the lack of concern by the Europeans, the slaves were forced to live under harsh conditions. They
were constantly whipped and tortured. They were forced to work over-time and they were not
properly fed. Many slaves were even killed. They were also deprived of many privileges, such as
having an education, being baptized, practicing their religion or getting married. The plantation
system consisted of pure torture and mistreatment, thus, the Africans had to endure a lifestyle
that was completely degrading and filled with suffering. This made poor health, suicide and
death common.
Furthermore, In Guyana, these acts continuously occurred for about three centuries (16th to
19th). Although the Africans were the backbone of the plantations, there were many other social
groups that were significant to some extent. Thus, during this turbulent period of time, ‘there was
a social and political order which formed the social structures and class related lifestyles on the
plantation society’. This social structure was designed to ‘distinguish slaves from their masters
and created a clear line of authority and servitude’. It also helped with controlling the affairs of
the plantation. This class system was stratified according to power, prestige, privilege and
without a doubt, colour.
Moreover, each layer of stratification was hierarchically organized along firm boundaries. It
was designed in such a way that it appeared as a pyramid. At the top of the pyramid were the
Whites. This included the plantation owners, government officials, merchants, managers,
craftsmen, clergies and indentured servants. These were the authoritative personnel.
Under the white ruling class was the mixed or Mulattos population together with the poor
whites and free people of colour. This tier also included the Quadroon and Sambos. ‘This was a
‘sandwich’ group of people that served as a social lubricant between the highest and lowest tiers
of Guyana’s slave societies.’
At the lowest level, was the black and non-white labour class. These were the slaves who were
then further classified into field, house, skilled and urban slaves. The slaves were
underprivileged and did not have an important status in the society. The domestic slaves were
more privileged than the field slaves and this was seen by the clothes they wore and the food
they ate.
In addition, the layout of the residential landscape was also stratified. The whites or plantation
owners lived in the Great House while the slaves lived in barracks or logies. There was a factory
area which consisted of various mills, boiling and curing houses, storage and work sheds and a
distillery. The slaves spent the majority of their days in the factory areas.
Furthermore, this social structure caused many Africans to long for better standards of living.
They were no longer able to endure all the harsh treatment and cruelty and eventually they
rebelled. Rebellions occurred all over the Caribbean and after many years of fighting for
freedom, slavery was abolished and the Africans got what they deserved.
 In summation, even though the plantation society no longer exists, we can observe some
similarities in today’s society. It still seems as though the people with colour are struggling while
whites remain in power and possess all the privilege. Africans are still treated unequally and it is
mainly because of racism. These things are sickening in our society because people still despise
Africans even though they are also humans.

3. Discuss the “genesis’’of the many slave protests within the plantation society.
Throughout history Africans have objected to being enslaved and have responded in numerous
ways ranging from individual shirking, alcoholism, flight, suicide, murdering owners, and mass
rebellion. The most common individual response to enslavement was sluggishness, passivity, and
indifference.
One of the first instances of slaves gaining freedom and the start of protests were runaway slaves
called ‘bush negroes’. Outside the borders of the plantations vigilant Amerindians inhabited and
patrolled the land, and would capture and take back the escaped slaves. Despite, large numbers
of these runaway slaves had established their own communities. The community was built on a
cleared circular piece of ground with hidden sharp-pointed stakes to keep out enemies. They
built huts and established themselves and would become known to the Europeans as ‘Bush
Negroes’. They played a crucial part in slave revolutions; the rebellion leaders would call upon
the Bush Negroes to aid and fight with them. Life as a runaway slave was difficult and dangerous
but compared to returning to slavery seemed worse to them.
In addition, one of the main factors that contributed to the start of slave protests happened when
production and maintenance of plantations became costly. And so, only wealthy planters could
afford it, and production moved to the coastlands. The rich and wealthy planters would send
managers to the estates; these men were hasty in acquiring money. Therefore, they started to
drive slaves mercilessly. In a visit of an important slave, Abomie, to Berbice, he received many
complaints from the slaves. They were receiving bad treatment and that it started settlers of ‘the
worst type’ came, in 1732. The slaves told Abomie that they were being treated like animals and
were overworked. This lead to the start of many rebellions, and to the famous Berbice Slave
Rebellion which began on 23 February 1763 and lasted to December.

4. Identify the forms of resistance used in the plantation society.

The forms of resistance were classified into two main forms:

1. Passive or non insurrectionary resistance in the form of evading work, running away and
marronage, and suicide.

2. Violent or insurrectionary resistance in the form of revolts, destruction of property, individual

plots and attempts, refusing to work, satire and religion.

5. Examine the characteristics of each form of resistance mentioned in question four.

Passive resistance:

Evading work-
Enslaved Africans had no incentive to work, except through the force of lashes. As such, the
slave master could get no amount of work from their slaves unless some penal sanctions were
implemented to force the enslaved to labor. Africans used any means to evade work. Long after
they had learned the language, Africans pretended to misunderstand what was being said. The
trauma of capture,transportation and sale often caused the Africans to neglect himself and
constantly had a lazy attitude towards work. Creating mischievous confusion was another way of
delaying work for long periods. Sometimes, workers would fabricate outrageous stories or relay
erroneous information that would involve almost all the workers on the plantation. Lyon was
used to evade punishment, protect others from being punished or to evade work. Another popular
form of evading work was pretending to be ill. Females exaggerated feminine complaints and
prolonged the period of gestation. Pretending to be ill, injuring themselves, opening wounds, or
even infecting themselves with ‘chigger’ worms were some of the extreme forms of passive
resistance.

Running away and marronage-

Running away was more common among the newly arrived enslaved and tended to be a
continuation of struggle that began with attempts to elude capture. Workers who had saved up
sufficient money would forage passes, and sometimes for many years, they were able to carry on
trade, or roam the countryside as freemen. This, however, was not always easy, since the ratio of
the free population was so small in many colonies, it was very hard for a run away to stay hidden
for very long. Some runways managed to stowaway on boats and moved to different islands,
where they were better able to set themselves up as free persons. Large scale marronage was one
of the easier ways for runaways to escape. Grand marronage was different in that the workers ran
away in groups, with the intention of not returning but establishing themselves in free
communities. These runaways sometimes found their way to maroon villages. Running away on
a large scale usually followed some kind of general unrest.

Suicide-
This individual, extreme form of resistance started on the Middle Passage when slaves threw
themselves overboard, as a result of depression. They did this to end their lives to get out of the
situation. The enslaved saw this as a way to escape and believed that they would return to Africa,
living the life of someone else. Mothers committed infanticide (the act of killing a young child)
to prevent involving their children in slavery. Suicide was common amongst newly arrived
Africans. They did it to avoid cruel reprisals from the Whites. They rather die at their own hands
than at their enslavers, who would kill them in a shameful manner. Runaway slaves killed
themselves before being found so as to avoid facing a shameful death.

Violent resistance:

Destruction of property-
This was sometimes the intentional damage of tools and machinery done so as to appear
accidental. Over a period of time, this activity resulted in considerable cost to the plantation for
repair. It caused stoppage of work and great losses in production and spoilage of sugar. It was
damaging because planters had to wait for long periods for expensive replacement parts for their
equipment. In extreme cases slaves would set fire to growing canes and buildings. Setting fire to
property however was generally associated with some form of uprising.

Refusal to work-
Occasionally workers would down tools and blatantly refuse to return to work. Again this would
usually be associated with some form of concerted rebellion under the leadership of one or more
respected Africans..

Individual violence-
These included attempts or plots to kill or harm white personnel by enslaved persons. This would
occur while slaves were undergoing cruel beatings or punishment. The act would sometimes be
committed by family members who had been forced to watch their loved one suffer. Sometimes,
African males, angry over rape against their mates by the whites would lash out.
These plots were mostly directed against harsh overseers and masters. These plots were
sometimes poisoning. Obeah or black magic were frequently used to carry out this type of
activity. Africans that were knowledgeable in the art of dark magic would produce charms to
produce the death of whites. Sometimes too, a trusted worker would add these potions to the
master’s food or drink either carried out slowly over an extended period of time so as to not raise
suspicion. It was not uncommon to have all the whites on a plantation killed prior to or as part of
a revolt.

Satire-
This was very painful especially to white females against whom it was frequently directed. As an
outlet for their expression in songs, dances and their imitation of the whites, the Africans showed
their indomitable will, as whites became the brunt of cruel jokes and snide remarks, especially
when workers had learnt some exciting bit of news concerning infidelity or any form of domestic
trouble. Young females would sometimes intentionally encourage white males into sexual
liaisons and then flaunt their successes at the white mistress.

Revolts-
Hardly a year passed without some concerted uprising taking place in some of the slave colonies.
This trend continued throughout the period of slavery, escalating through the final decades
before emancipation.
The most spectacular, and perhaps best-known, forms of revolts were organized, armed
rebellions. Slaves commandeered weapons, burned and looted properties, and even killed their
masters and other whites, but whites were quick to exact a brutal revenge.If the measure of a
revolt’s success was the overthrow of slavery, then none of these revolts succeeded. Ultimately,
the only rebellion that succeeded in overthrowing slavery in the Americas was the Haitian
Revolution.The constant specter of physical violence reminded whites that slavery would never
go unchallenged
Religion-
Among Africans, the practice of resorting to the gods either through oracles or divination was a
common practice. Religion pervaded every aspect of the life of the enslaved. Religious
practitioners often emerged as leaders among the slaves. In the case of tacky, and late in the case
of the Haitian revolution, obeah or black magic figured significantly and was used collectively or
individually to resist slavery. These leaders were also significant religious leaders who employed
the will of the gods in resisting slavery. During the nineteeth century, the baptist war was also
led by a religious leader.

6. Describe Specific acts Of Resistances employed By Enslaved Women, in the plantation

society.

Enslaved women were treated as objects in most masters’ eyes. They would often be used to
fulfil their master’s sexual desires. Since women were considered domestic workers in those
times, as they were said to be weaker than men, they were often put to work as servants in the
masters’ houses, working for the master and his family.
However, enslaved women in the homes used their opportunities wisely. Being present in the
house almost all the time gave the women the ability to do things that would affect their masters
without having the trouble of using stealth, an example is that they could contaminate their
masters with a harmful substance without being noticed.
Women in the homes would also use themselves as spies and ally themselves with field slaves to
plan rebellions. As women could roam around the house of their master, they could gather
information as it related to the master and his family’s schedule.
For enslaved women who were raped and forcefully impregnated, they would use this as an
opportunity as well. Enslaved mothers of newborns were treated less harshly as they were tasked
with the duty of the reproduction, as so for the times they were given to breastfeed a child, they
would attempt to flee, as masters did not pay much attention to them.
Some other examples of acts of resistance were:

● Suicide or attempted Suicide- enslaved women would attempt or commit suicide to be

free from their masters. Such an act would put masters at a loss as the master would have
lost a domestic slave and would have to buy another.
● Abortion- women on the plantations would take abortions to stop reproduction as they
were a source of increase in the number of slaves.
 ● Starvation- female slaves starved themselves, or at least abstained from food to use as an
excuse for not working which would disrupt the management of the homes, decrease in
labour and also affect the reproductive process.
● Contraception- when masters would permit sexual intercourse between slaves to allow
reproduction to occur, females would use artificial methods such as harming themselves
or having their partner harm them to prevent pregnancy.
● Abstinence from sexual intercourse- female slaves abstained from sexual intercourse as a
form of resistance to discontinue the reproductive process.

References

Gordon, & Eloísa. (n.d.). Resistance, Rebellions and Revolutions. Retrieved June 13, 2020, from
https://enciclopediapr.org/en/encyclopedia/resistance-rebellions-and-revolutions/

There was developed which distinguished the slaves (n.d), Gerard Cambon, Retrieved from
https://gerardcambon.net/there-is-still-evidence-of-the-plantation-society-being-adapted-in-the-
caribbean-today/#:~:text=Slavery%20occurred%20in%20the%20Caribbean,lifestyles%20on
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African emancipation, (August 1, 2017), Guyana Times Inc., Retrieved from
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Daly V.T. (1974), The Making of Guyana; chapters 8-9; The Development of Essequibo and
Berbice, the Rise of Demerara; pg. 71-86
Slave protest, (n.d.), Encyclopedia Britannica, Retrieved from
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Liberties Lost. Caribbean Indigenous Societies and Slave Systems
by Hilary Mc.D Beckles & Verene A. Shepherd (November 18, 2004)

Caribbean history for CSEC by Kevin Baldeosingh and Radica Mahase (April 2011)

James H. Sweet (n.d.) Slave resistance Retrieved from

http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1609-1865/essays/slaveresist.htm retrieved
on: 14th June, 2020

Uda, R. (2013). Various Resistance Ways of Enlsaved Women. Retrieved from https://iisr.nl/wp-
content/uploads/2016/05/RU_Slavery20130630_Proverbs.pdf