![]() That icon of abjection has shaped the prevailing understanding of bondage and race to this day. In response, late-eighteenth-century abolitionists would rally around the image of a kneeling supplicant begging to be recognized as a man and a brother, as if the condemnation of evil required the meek innocence of its victims. Slaveholders cited black militancy as a justification for their brutality. This provides a different perspective on slaveholders, as well: their interactions with militant Africans highlight the failures of European command as much as mastery, the brittleness and insecurity that colonists could overcome only with massive displays of force. ![]() ![]() By contrast, recalling their roots in West Africa reminds us to consider their goals, initiatives, and maneuvers. Starting with the image of slaves in Jamaica, or elsewhere in the Americas, encourages us to fixate on their suffering black bodies and see only their reactions to bondage. Beginning the story of American slave revolt with West Africa’s entanglement with European empire allows a shift in perspective, taking in the wider geography that shaped the course of the insurgency and the political imagination of its participants. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |