Most
of the millions of slaves captured in West Africa are brought
to work on the sugar plantations of the Caribbean Islands. Africans,
in fact, become the dominant ethnic group in the Caribbean.
While numbers still totalled over two million, relatively fewer
Africans were brought to North America. However, in some cities,
like New York, Africans made up a third of the population, or
even up to half, in cities like Charleston. Europeans are so
outnumbered in the Caribbean that the fear of slave revolts
is real, and extremely brutal and harsh punishments are handed
out to slaves. In 1775, as one example, the population of Jamaica
is made up of 12,800 Europeans, 4100 free Africans and 193,000
slaves.
Although used in smaller numbers, poor Europeans and captured
native Americans are also used as slaves (both in North and
Central America). In the language of the time, the Europeans
are called "servants" and enslaved natives are usually
called "pawnees". The living conditions of the African
"slave", the white "servant" and the native
"pawnee" were often the same. However, Africans were
preferred as slaves since it was almost impossible for them
to escape. Unlike whites or natives, who lived close to, or
in, large communities of their own people, where they could
blend in more easily, the brown skinned-African always stood
out and was thousands of miles from home. One route of escape
was to the free villages and towns of the native Americans.
The native Americans did not have the concept of "race"--they
saw all people as "brothers and sisters"--and readily
welcomed escaped African slaves into their communities. Many
of these Africans also had valuable skills, such as blacksmithing.
The loss of slaves to the native communities became a large
enough problem for the white settlers that most of the Indian
nations were forced to stop giving protection to Africans after
1720 under the threat of military attack, although small numbers
were still accepted.
But that was mostly limited to eastern North America. Most Caribbean
islands were too small to hide large numbers of escaped slaves.
One major exception was Jamaica. First conquered by Spain, England
took the island in 1655. But even since Spanish times, escaped
slaves had set up free communities in the wooded mountains of
central Jamaica, both African and native American. These escaped
slaves were called "maroons" by the English, from
the Spanish word "cimarron", which means wild or untamed.
The maroon villages were usually organized like military camps
because they were under constant threat of attack.
The most famous maroon leader was a woman, Grandy Nanny. One
of her brothers was Cudjoe, the leader of a failed slave revolt
in 1738. Nanny's maroon settlement, high in the Blue Mountains
of Jamaica, survived repeated British attacks, although recent
archaeological evidence shows that the English may have occupied
the town for a short time. Nanny proved to be a skilled military
leader winning a number of battles. The modern community of
Nanny Town is a memorial to her.
With the collapse of the French monarchy as a result of the
French Revolution, Haiti revolts and declares itself independent
in 1804. It becomes the first former slave state to gain its
independence and establish a republic.
25
years ago / 50 years ago
/ 80 years ago / 125
years ago / 150 years ago
250 years ago
/ 400 years ago / 700
years ago / 1,200 years
ago
1,500 years ago / 2,000
years ago / 4,000 years
ago / 10,000 years ago
