Rebellions and Resistance

• Resistance included acts like:

  • Refusing to follow rules,
  • Single act of violence,
  • Jumping overboard,
  • Major revolts - led to sailors and slaves fighting each other
  • One example included how a captain reported how slaves jumped on his sailors and attacked with knives. One sailor receiving 15 knife wounds to the knee
• Little George Ship Revolt - June 1730

  • Said to be one of the most successful rebellions
  • Occurred 5 days after it had set sail from the Coast of Guinea to bring enslaved Africans to the British colony of Rhode Island
  • Revolt began when several Africans slipped out of their iron chains, overpowered the crew, and sailed back to Africa, specifically to the Sierra Leone River, abandoning the ship
• Why it was difficult to revolt onboard the Middle Passage

  1. No weapons - couldn't properly revolt
  2. Fear of punishment - saw how bad some people were after they attempted to resist
  3. Lack of opportunity - mostly tied/shackled and kept below deck
  4. No leaders - meant there was no order between the enslaved Africans
  5. Too hungry and weak - meant they were not strong enough to overpower the crew