How did enslaved Africans resist slavery?

Recall how enslaved Explain how enslaved Evaluate the impact

Africans might react to Africans resisted resistance had on
life on a plantation slavery attitudes to slavery

In previous lessons, we have spoken about how

awful conditions were on slave plantations. In
today’s lesson we will look at how enslaved
Africans resisted a system which made profits
from their suffering.

By the end of the lesson, we will be able to argue

that slave resistance encouraged an end to the
slave trade itself.

Key Words
Resistance Rebellion
 How did enslaved Africans resist slavery?

[Discuss]

How could you avoid doing any work in

class today?
(You will be harshly punished if you are caught)
 Resistance

Resistance is how people fight against injustice. It can be both violent and peaceful.

Peaceful resistance means the refusal Violent resistance means the use of
to follow someone’s unfair orders. force to fight against unfairness.
How did enslaved Africans peacefully resist slavery?

[TASK 1]

● Pick the three most effective methods of resisting slavery.

● Explain why these three methods would be a good way of fighting injustice.

Escape Give the master food Work really slowly

poisoning
For example:

Breaking tools
would be a good
way to fight slavery
Break tools Learn to read and Pretend not to
because it would
write understand
mean that the
instructions
master would lose
money and might
not be able to Fake illness Steal things Keeping African
afford more slaves. traditions
 Resistance to slavery

[TASK 2]

Watch the video.

Make notes about slave resistance.

● What forms did it take?

● Why weren’t there more slave rebellions?

Slave
resistance
 Haitian Revolution (1804)

● One of the richest places in the world.

● Enslaved Africans outnumbered the French

masters massively.

● Enslaved people were treated appallingly.

● In 1804, the enslaved Africans rose up, killed their

French masters, and took control of the island.

● The French army tried to take over the island a

couple of times, but failed. [DISCUSS]

● Haiti became the second country (after the USA) ● How might British slave owners
in the New World to declare independence from have felt?
Europe. ● What impact might this have on the
● This would have been front-page news in Europe. European public?
 Haitian Revolution (1804)

French slave masters brought many enslaved Africans

to plantations on the Caribbean island of Haiti. Haiti
became one of the richest places in the world, because
there were so many slaves doing so much work. These
slaves were treated appallingly.

In 1804, the enslaved Africans rose up, killed their

French masters, and took control of the island.

The French (and British) armies tried to conquer the [DISCUSS]

island a couple of times, but there were too many
● How might British slave owners
slaves who were desperate for their freedom. The
have felt when they heard the news
former slaves fought-off all armies which tried to take
of the revolution?
over.
● What impact might this have on the
Haiti became the second country (after the USA) in the European public’s knowledge of the
New World to declare independence from Europe. conditions slaves were living in?
 Nat Turner’s rebellion (1831)

Violent slave rebellions also took place in the

United States. The most famous of these was
Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831.
[TASK 3]
● Watch the videos
● Make notes in the table below

Who?

When?

Where?

What?

Why?
 How did resistance end slavery?

[TASK 4]

Draw a simple table

Peaceful Violent
● List at least three reasons why peaceful
resistance may have brought an end to
slavery.

● List at least three reasons why violent

resistance may have brought an end to
slavery.
 Extended writing

[TASK 5] Write two P.E.E paragraphs

Structure
in answer to the following:

Explain why slave resistance [P] One reason slave resistance encouraged
an end to slavery was that …
encouraged an end to slavery.
[Ev] For example …
[Ex] This encouraged an end to slavery
because …
… it brought attention to the cruelty of slavery.

[P] Another reason was that …

… it reduced the profits made by slave owners. [Ev] For example …
[Ex] This encouraged an end to slavery

… it scared slave owners. because …

 What problems might a runaway slave face?

[TASK 6]

What problems might a runaway slave face?

Place at least five ideas around a mindmap.

What problems
might a
runaway face?
 What can you learn from Source A about
runaway slaves?

(Source A) Advert in the Alabama Beacon (14th June,

[TASK 7] 1845)

‘What can you learn from

Source A about runaway
slaves?’
[P] Firstly, Source A tells us
that runaway slaves …
[Ev] This is shown by …
[Ex] This suggests that …
A woman named Frances ran away from me on May
15th. This woman is twenty years old, she is rather tall,
can read and write, and can therefore forge passes for
herself. She took with her a pair of earrings and a Bible
with a red cover. She is very religious. She prays a great
deal, and I thought she was content and happy. She is
as white as most white women, with straight light hair,
and blue eyes, and can pass herself for a white
woman. I will give five hundred dollars for her capture
and delivery to me.
 Fugitive slaves in the United States

● In the early 1800s, the northern states of

the USA abolished slavery. The southern
states didn’t abolish slavery until 1865.

● In the 60 year interval, some slaves

escaped with the hope of arriving in the
northern states, where they would be free.

● In 1850 a law was passed which forced

national police to recover and arrest
fugitive slaves.

● This law also made it illegal to help fugitive

slaves.

● Slave owners could also hire bounty

hunters to track down fugitive slaves.
 Harriet Tubman

[DISCUSS]

● How did the efforts of people like

Harriet Tubman contribute to the
end of slavery?
● Why is Harriet Tubman such a
significant figure?