Caribbean History Internal Assessment Candidates Name: Kyle Teachers Name: School: Pre-University School Taylor Hall, University of the West Indies Mona Campus Centre #: Candidate # Territory: Jamaica Year: 2024 1|Page Table Of Contents Contents Theme ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 4 What forms of resistance did women use in the British west indies? ..................................................... 6 How effective were these forms of resistance used by women in the British west indies?.................... 9 To what extent were these forms of resistance pivotal in the resistance movement? .......................... 11 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 12 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Appendix .................................................................................................................................................... 14 2|Page Theme Slavery System: Character and Dismantlement (Women In Resistance) Thesis Statement: To what extent were enslaved women’s tactics of resistance effective in the British west indies Research Aims: I. To examine the forms of resistance women used in the British west indies. II. To identify the effectiveness of these forms of resistance used by these women. III. To what extent were these forms of resistance pivotal in the resistance movement. 3|Page Introduction Slavery has long been practiced across many portions of the world from pre historical time to even modern times an example of this can be seen in Africa. Domestic slavery was a form of dept payment, punishment for a crime committed or of one was captured in a tribal war. However, this was nothing compared to the Transatlantic Trade. Enslavement in this new world was known as Chattel slavery. These slaves were seen as properties with no rights and whose very body and souls were owned. This form of slavery was founded by the Europeans after the genocide of the indigenous people and the failure of the indentureship system. Due to the sugar revolution in the British West Indies in the seventeenth century, the Europeans needed a source of cheap reliable labour, thus they journeyed to West Africa and ravaged the lands forcefully taking the natives from their homelands and taking them to the new world on the cotton, tobacco and sugar plantations which they had established. The enslaved were forced to endure the hard conditions of slaver, long working hours, brutal punishments, little to no food and the physical, sexual and psychological abuse especially the females. Enslavement was so brutal and dehumanizing that the enslaved would adopt whatever means they could to feel human these were known as methods of resistance. It is evident in many historical findings that enslaved women practiced different forms of resistance compared to their male counterparts, The females would use more in-depth forms of resistance while the males would use more reckless forms of resistance. Two examples of this are that men were more likely to get into physical altercations with their slave owners while women would work slower when doing task and to also purposely hinder any task being done. 4|Page With this information it could be said that some forms of resistance used by the enslaves were not as effective as others. And with this information the researcher has formulated a research question “To what extent were enslaved women’s tactics of resistance effective in the British west indies” This research will take the task of: I. To examine the forms of resistance women used in the British west indies. II. To identify the effectiveness of these forms of resistance used by these women. III. To what extent were these forms of resistance pivotal in the resistance movement. 5|Page What forms of resistance did women use in the British west indies? Before the researcher begins this paper, they will first define the different forms of resistance used by the enslaved of the British west indies. Resistance is grouped into two categories, one being active resistance and the other being passive resistance. Passive resistance would involve slow working pretending ignorance and deliberate carelessness. One the other hand active resistance would involve more rigorous and immediate results such actions were rarer as they brough harsher punishments compared to passive resistance some of these were refusing to copulate with masters, damaging livestock, stealing and most of all murder and revolt. During researching it was found that there were many layers of resistance many of these layers were laid down by enslaved women who worked resistance into all aspects of their culture and tradition. One example of this was seen in the practice of religion, a major part of the Africans who were brought into the British west indies. When forbade from practicing their religion on the plantations traditional religious practices took on a deeper meaning for slaves. Through religion and dance they were able to release themselves to their gods and at the same time take part in passive resistance and at the forefront of this resistance were the enslaved women, who passed down these forms of resistance and African culture and heritage which survived slavery. They did so through their roles as mothers, daughters, healers, and caregivers. They were in short strong women who felt it their duty to uphold their traditions and values. The women also knew that they were the key to the furthering of the enslaved population as the slavers found their childbearing capabilities very valuable. For this reason, women participated in acts resistance specific to their labor demands and gender. From avoiding sexual intercourse to terminating pregnancies and even taking the lives of their infants’ other women also resisted by working to control their participation in producing of enslaved children. 6|Page Tho infanticide was a method used by the enslaved women this was a very extreme form of resistance. It speaks of the sheer cruelty and brutality that the enslaved were being put through, the women preferred to rob their children of life than to put them through a life of endless struggle and cruelty. Women would use a variety of herbs such as turpentine and cotton roots to force a miscarriage they also used herbs to slow their menstruation cycle as to further hinder the production of new slaves. Not only did women force miscarriages and commit infanticide but they also faked pregnancy’s as to hinder the production rate of the plantation, this was done because if a woman was found to be pregnant their workload would be cut in half. Through this it can be said that enslaved women used reproduction as a major form a resistance during this time period. However it is said that women did not just resist enslavement through infanticide and miscarriages they also passed down traditions that were said to be banned by the slavers and plantation owners one such example of this can be seen in religion. When the enslaved were taken to plantations their religion was forbade as the plantation owners saw this as a means of resistance knowing this the women found new means to practice their religion and passed down these means of practice through generations. It can be said that by doing this the women helped to boost the morale of their fellow enslaved and gave them hope for their freedom. Enslaved women also formed relationships with their captors, though sometimes forced, to gain social status, material possessions or special privileges that other enslaved would not receive. Thomas Thistlewood diary (1999) reveals the relationship Thistlewood had with one of his female slaves it showed how she received gifts and privileges that other slaves didn’t. In some cases, slaves would also get their freedom an example of this can be seen in Thistlewood’s relationship with his female slave he helped her get her freedom and also gave her money and 7|Page willed his land to her also another case in Barbados where a female slave known as Old Doll manipulated her relationship with her enslavers to gain concessions and security for her offspring. Enslaved women also participated in organized rebellions and uprisings against their oppressors. While this was less frequent than other forms of resistance, they were significant acts of defiance that challenged the institution of slavery and inspired further resistance among the enslaved communities. Some women would also try to escape from slavery by fleeing the plantations and seeking refuge with the maroons or armed resistance movements, The maroons were runaway slaves who fled to remote mountains they were known to perform acts of rebellion by freeing slaves and killing the slavers. Although escape was filled with risk it offered a chance for freedom and humanity outside the confines of slaver. Some enslaved women also occasionally utilized the legal system to challenge their enslavement or seek redress for mistreatment. While access to justice was limited some women pursued legal avenues through petitions and appeals to colonial authorities. Lastly the women would show forms of resistance in day-to-day activities such as cooking food for their owners they would spit in the food and not only that when performing labor, they would purposely move slowly as to hinder production some women went as far as to poison their master’s food. 8|Page How effective were these forms of resistance used by women in the British west indies? Judging from the variety of methods listed it can be said that some methods employed by the enslaved women were not as effective as others. How effective the women’s tactics were varied depending on a variety of factors such as social, political and economic state of their respective areas as well as the different circumstances of an individual or community. Some tactics may have resulted in immediate gains or tangible outcome, others may have contributed to long-term goals such as changes in public opinion or shifts in power dynamics. As stated above enslaved women committed everyday acts of resistance such as working slowly, breaking tools etc. to hinder plantation production rates. While these acts of resistance did not yield immediate results, they did assist in disrupting plantations operations and also helped to add a sense of empowerment among the enslaved women. Over a period of time these smalls acts of resistance accumulated and contributed to the broader resistance movement. It was also stated that women played a huge role in the passing down of traditions and religion doing this provided a sense of identity and humanity as the entire enslavement process was extremely dehumanizing. These practices helped to maintain a sense of community and comradery against the efforts to eradicate African cultural heritage. While not directly countering the institution of slavery, cultural and spiritual resistance fostered a sense of agency and belonging among the enslaved. Enslaved women played a crucial role in laying the layers and foundation of the resistance movement as they were the ones responsible in forming tight-knit communities and support networks. In doing so this helped the enslaved women to provide aid and share information and to also organize widespread actions among slaves. These strong communities helped to bolster the enslaved resilience and resistance against their oppressors. 9|Page Not only did enslaved women form communities to aid in the resistance movement but as stated they also used their roles as mothers as a means of resistance. Controlling reproduction allowed enslaved women to have a sense of freedom over their bodies, limiting child birth or practicing contraception disrupted the labor force and challenged the economic interest of the slave owners. However even though this tactic was very effective it was hindered by the brutal reality of the sexual exploitation and reproductive abilities of the women. Escaping from slavery was also a form of resistance used by the women, escaping from bondage offered the enslaved women freedom from the institution of slavery. While successful escapes were rare and dangerous they undermined the institution of slavery by depriving slave owners of labor and challenging the view that the enslaved were contempt with their current situations. Women also participated in rebellions and uprisings and in doing so they posed a direct challenge to the institution of slavery and in doing so they inspired further resistance among other communities. While many of these attempts of rebellions were brutally put to rest they demonstrated the potential for enslaved people to resist and fight for their freedom. Lastly women utilizes the legal system to challenge enslavement or seek redress for mistreatment this could sometimes yield tangible results, such as individual emancipation or improved living conditions however access to the justice system was often limited and for enslaved people the system was often biased so for the enslaved to attain legal victories the battles were rare and hard-won. 10 | P a g e To what extent were these forms of resistance pivotal in the resistance movement? Enslaved women’s forms of resistance were pivotal in the overall resistance movement against slavery in the British West Indies. Enslaved women’s forms of resistance while many were marginalized played a very vital role in the resistance movement this is said due to the fact that women played a crucial role in laying the foundation of an organized movement this can be seen in the fact that they were the ones to form communities on the plantations which led to the enslaved being able to aid each other and share important information that would be needed for rebellions or escapes. It is said that women also passed down the religion and traditions of their homelands giving the enslaved a sense of humanity and therefore giving them hope of freedom and the strength to fight for said freedom. Without this passing down of traditions the enslaved would have lost the will to fight as they would no longer remember what their homeland was like after so many years of slavery. Women also used their roles as mother and caregivers to greatly affect the institution of slavery. Women rebelled against their owners by restricting the reproduction of new slaves and in doing so restricted the amount of money slavers would make. It can be said that in doing so the women also inspired other slaves to rebel against their masters and contributing to the widespread resistance movement. On the topic of using their roles as females women as stated above would often use their ‘’female orientation’’ to persuade some slave owners into getting what they needed for example information or special privileges, and with these privileges they were able to assist the resistance movement. 11 | P a g e Conclusion With this being said the forms of resistance employed by the enslaved women of the British West Indies played a crucial role in the overall success of the resistance movement against slavery. Though some tactics may have not been affective or rewarded immediate gain it can be seen that they still proved to be beneficial for the movement and contributed greatly in challenging a system enveloped in brutality, oppression and exploitation. By preserving dignity and fighting for liberation the enslaved women played a central role in the abolishment of this system and shaping history for the better. 12 | P a g e Bibliography 1. Stella Dadize, A kick in the belly: Women, Slavery and resistance 2. Trevor Burnard, Mastery, Tyranny and Desire, (2008) 3. Stephanie Camp, Closer to freedom, (2004) 4. Nikki Taylor, Brooding Over Bloody Revenge: Women’s Lethal Resistance (2023) 5. Slave Resistance: A Caribbean Study 13 | P a g e Appendix Figure 1. Figure 2 14 | P a g e Figure 3. 15 | P a g e
