Description
Abolition of slavery in the Americas is a large, complicated, and long story, and these five sessions will look at elements of abolition in the United States, the Caribbean Islands, and Brazil. Rebellion and resistance on the part of the slaves themselves led the abolition movement from the institution’s earliest days. Tragically, with the singular exception of the Haitian Rebellion in the late 1700s, most ended in devastating failure. Fleeing slavery was an important part of the movement too, with Maroon colonies creating refuges for runaway slaves. In the 18th and 19th centuries, abolitionists – black and white – actively fought the abolition battle throughout the Americas and in Europe. By the mid-1800s it had become an archaic institution, but there were millions of whites who failed to recognize that fact.
