Daring to Be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World

“The enslaved rebelled against their captivity throughout the entire [400-year] period” of the Atlantic slave system, according to this stunning revisionist saga. Historian Hazareesingh (Black Spartacus) chronicles myriad examples of “verbal expressions of dissent,” escapes and slave ship mutinies, “poison and sabotage,” acts of self-harm that denied the enslavers one’s labor, as well as “military rebellion, insurgency, and warfare.” He also argues that “enslaved resistance must be evaluated beyond the single criterion of whether it led to the direct overthrow of the institution of slavery,” pointing out that, for centuries, resistance was a vital practice that fostered “dignity and autonomy” for millions. “Resistance thinking,” he writes, cultivated “networks of community and solidarity” that eventually became “forms of self-governance.” Hazareesingh traces this legacy of resistance directly to Africa, where many communities, targeted by “African imperial armies and slave-raiding parties,” refused to submit; many of these groups not only survived but thrived, and seeded oral traditions among those enslaved that resistance was possible. Hazareesingh likewise tracks the spiritual dimensions of resistance thinking throughout the Atlantic world, showing how oath-taking, sacred rituals, and new religious narratives forged new political identities, with one striking example being Nat Turner, who “shrouded his preparations” for rebellion in the story of “his personal journey towards the Kingdom of Heaven.” Pointedly demonstrating that the enslaved’s efforts contributed more to their freedom than “the campaigns of enlightened white abolitionists,” this is a remarkable reorientation of the history of the modern world. (Dec.)