During the time of slavery were there any slave revolts that were successful or nearly successful?

by ScribbleMeNot

I heard of one in Charleston(or was it Charlotte?) that was almost successful, but Im a little fuzzy on the details. If you know any websites, books, and even videos on the topic please share.

Anoraklibrarian

The one you are thinking about near Charleston was The Stono Rebellion, a massive uprising in 1739 that killed dozens of people. The rebels consisted of a band of 20 or so people that gradually increased to around 100 people through raids as they made their way south. It's commonly believed that their goal was to reach Spanish territory in Florida, but its uncertain if that was the actual goal or not. Ultimately, they encountered the lieutenant governor who was on horseback, he fled and organized forces, and they were slaughtered by the riverside.

The Haitian revolution was the only successful slave revolt. The French were thrown out, slavery ended, and Haiti became an independent black republic. You don't get any more successful than that.

There were numerous other slave rebellions in the USA where some participants may have escaped into the wilderness--this is especially true of the time of the American revolution, when large numbers of enslaved people escaped into Indian territory from SC and GA--but most slave revolts ended in large scale executions. Examples of this include the NYC revolts of 1712 and 1741, Stono, Nat Turner, and Denmark Vesey's revolts.

shahryarrakeen

If you are interested in resistance to slavery in the time of the Atlantic slave trade, one path to follow is the quilombo communities in Brazil, populated by escaped slaves and other outcasts. The biggest one was Palmares, which was founded in 1605 but eventually supressed by Portuguese forces in 1694.

Glenn Alan Cheney, Quilombo dos Palmares: Brazil's Lost Nation of Fugitive Slaves, Hanover, CT:New London Librarium, 2014.

aqualad654

Well, I do not know about Charleston's slave revolts, but the largest slave revolt in the United States happened in 1811 in Louisiana just outside of New Orleans. Daniel Rasmussen, American Uprising: The Untold Story of America's Largest Slave Revolt. New York, NY: Harper, 2011

Anoraklibrarian

Another successful slave revolt to consider was 'Nanny's revolt' in 1740 Jamaica. Not only was the leader was a woman, but the British also signed a peace treaty with the revolutionaries, which allowed them to form a free community in the mountains. This was not the first time Jamaican spaces built free communities; when the Spanish fled Jamaica during Oliver cromwell's invasion, a portion of the enslaved community claimed their freedom and built enduring communities in the Jamaican mountains.