1) Black Slave Revolts in Mexico
Little Known Black History Facts: In 1570 an African slave escaped from Veracruz Mexico named Gaspar Yanga. It is said he was of royal heritage from Gabon west Africa. Because of his ingenuity and courage he is a welcomed part of our slave revolts list.
He started an escaped slave colony in the mountains that thrived for four decades. The Spanish colonial powers sent several armies to destroy them, but Yanga and his ex-slave army defeated all of them.
In 1619 a peace agreement was reached. The Spanish colonialist recognized Yanga’s s settlement’s independence. Today the town is named Yanga to honor his memory.
There is also a statue of Yanga’s likeness in Veracruz Mexico. It’s descendants of African slaves, celebrates his revolution annually.
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2) The Zanj Rebellion
Little Known Black History Facts: The Zanj Rebellion is one of the bloodiest African slave revolts in history. From 869 thru 883 A.D.., hundreds of thousands died. East Africans called Zanj revolted against Iraqi slavers.
The slave revolt started in the salt marshes of Basra Iraq. For 14 years the slaves conquered cities, towns and villages. Those who opposed them suffered unimaginable horrors. These slaves were driven by vengeance.
Most Zanj were castrated upon first being captured. Historians of the time wrote.
When the city of Basra was sacked, its inhabitants were massacred. The Zanj founded a their own city state named, Al Mukhtarah. Several provinces in Iran also fell to them.
They crushed every Muslim army the Iraq Abbasid empire sent to defeat them. They produced their own currency, collected taxes and formed a navy.
Identifying the severed heads of loved ones in the Tigres and Euphrates rivers is how many got news of those trapped in Zanj territory.
The Iraqi rulers finally defeated the Zanj in 883 A.D.,
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3) Cherokee Nation Slave Rebellion
In 1842 the Cherokee Nation Slave Rebellion of Oklahoma occurred.
Tweenty African slaves owned by the Cherokee Indian tribe escaped.
Joined by escaped Creek nation slaves they all headed for freedom in Mexico. Cherokee, Creek and Choctaw warriors formed a posse to pursue their escaped property.
The runaway blacks raided farms and homes for supplies. The slaves lost half their people in engagements with the Indians pursuing them. The group continued onward.
The fugitives encountered slave catchers with blacks they were returning to bondage. They killed the slave catchers and their captives joined the group.
The Cherokee posse eventually caught the escapees. And they excuted the leaders of the slaves for killing the slave catchers. They were returned to the Cherokee and Creek Nations, to live out their life’s in bondage.
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4) The ST. John Slave Revolts Of 1733
The largest slave revolt in American history occurred in 1811. The German Cost Upraising in Louisiana. A slave, Charles Deslondes led 200 other slaves from 10 plantations.
Little Known Black History Facts:
The revolt lasted three days. While the largest slave insurgency in US history, only two whites were killed. A militia of 80 heavily armed white planters with bloodhounds shot and killed 20 of the revolting blacks.
The rest fled into the swamps lands. Fifty captured, tried, convicted and beheaded. Their severed heads on spikes adorned the plantations they’d escaped from. Warnings to those entertaining fantasies of freedom in the future.
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5) Slave Revolts At Sea
Little Known Black History Facts: He was born a slave in 1819, on a plantation in Richmond Virginia. Madison Washington and his wife Susan tried to escape to Canada. Finally, Susan got caught by slave catchers but Madison continued on.
He planned to purchase her freedom with money earned in Canada. Quote from Madison Washington.
“My freedom is worth nothing without my wife.”
When he returned to the Virginia plantation, they captured and thrown him into the hold of a slave ship. The Creole, a slave ship loaded with 140 other blacks destined for New Orleans. New Orleans needed more slaves for it’s expanding cotton industry.
On the Nov. 7th, 1841 Madison freed himself and 18 other men below deck.
They burst from the hull and violently subdued the crew.
Madison was delighted to find his wife Susan aboard the Creole as well. Madison commanded crew prepare a celebratory feast, as they all set sailed to freedom to the Bahamas.
There were more than 50 major slave revolts aboard slave ships.
After they arrived in the Bahamas five blacks chose to return to slavery in the United States. Appearently they also had loved ones enslaved in America they couldn’t live without.
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- Did African-American slaves revolt.
- They sure did. Everywhere there were slaves in America there were slave revolts.
Written by Michael Lambert (Co-Writer and creator of the Black History Man/Black Archaeologist series).
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