Organised Uprisings
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Welcome to Black Resistance Level 1, Lesson 2: Organised Uprisings
In this lesson, you will learn about:
The most famous uprisings against slavery
The methods Africans would use during uprisings
Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will understand:
The names, dates and locations of various uprisings
The names of some famous leaders
A multitude of organised uprisings against slavery occurred on the plantations of North and South America as well as in the Caribbean.
These uprisings also occurred on the ships carrying Africans across the Atlantic. Africans, who often spoke different languages as they were from a variety of kingdoms and empires, managed to effectively coordinate and defend themselves against the horrors of slavery.
Below is a table detailing some of the most famous uprisings.
The enslaved Africans would use various methods of communication to organise these uprisings. Singing and music was often used to convey messages unbeknownst to the slave drivers on the plantation. The enslaved would also meet in secret, gathering in the middle of the night away from the plantation.
A small number of the enslaved were also afforded certain “privileges” and were permitted to read and write. These were usually those that were enslaved to work in the houses of the estate. Some were even allowed to travel to different plantations if they were a Biblical preacher. These “privileged” captives often led uprisings, such as Toussaint L’Ouverture who led the Haitian Revolution, Nat Turner, who led a rebellion in Virginia, and Sam Sharpe, who led the Baptist War.