Akwamu-led revolt begins on St John

Antonio de Montesinos condemned colonists’ exploitation of Indigenous people in a sermon in Hispaniola. This challenged religious excuses for domination, but Indigenous voices were not given control...

An alliance of Pueblo communities attacked Spanish colonial authorities after repression of their religious practices and labor exploitation. The revolt drove Spanish colonists from New Mexico for...

Four Germantown Quakers petitioned against buying and holding people in slavery, arguing that different skin color did not justify unequal treatment. Their meeting did not adopt immediate abolition....

Zumbi, a leader of the Palmares communities formed by people escaping slavery, was killed by colonial forces. Palmares challenged the plantation system by maintaining settlements outside enslavers’...

Enslaved people took up arms near the Stono River and moved toward Spanish Florida, where some escapees could obtain freedom. Colonial forces crushed the rebellion. It demonstrated collective...

After sustained resistance by people who had escaped slavery, Dutch colonial authorities concluded a treaty with the Ndyuka. It recognized their freedom and autonomy, but also required the return of...

Saamaka leaders concluded a peace treaty with the Dutch after decades of resistance. Recognition of their communities’ freedom did not abolish slavery elsewhere in Suriname; provisions concerning...

Enslaved people rose on a Berbice plantation in resistance to Dutch colonial slavery. The rebellion expanded into a major struggle for freedom associated with Cuffy and other leaders. Plantation...

James Somerset’s legal challenge prevented his enslaver from forcibly shipping him from England to Jamaica. The ruling limited an enslaver’s power in England but did not abolish slavery throughout the...