Black petitioners confront the contradiction of American liberty

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...

A petition submitted under the name Felix asked Massachusetts authorities to address the condition of enslaved people. The petitioners asserted their humanity and appealed collectively for liberty....

Prince Hall and fourteen other Black men were initiated into a British military Masonic lodge in Boston. The step helped create an institutional foundation for Black mutual aid and public leadership...

Virginia’s royal governor promised freedom to enslaved people owned by rebels who joined British forces. Many seized the opportunity, but the proclamation was a military measure rather than...

Scotland’s Court of Session rejected John Wedderburn’s claim to hold Joseph Knight in perpetual service and remove him abroad. Knight’s legal action challenged enslavement brought from a Caribbean...

Pennsylvania passed a gradual abolition law after antislavery campaigning. People already enslaved remained in bondage, while children born afterward could be held until age twenty-eight. The law...

Túpac Amaru II captured the Spanish official Antonio de Arriaga, beginning a major rebellion. Micaela Bastidas played a central organizational role. Resistance to forced labor, abusive officials,...

Túpac Amaru II’s forces executed Antonio de Arriaga after his capture. The act openly challenged Spanish colonial authority and officials associated with abusive extraction. It escalated a rebellion...

Colonial authorities publicly executed Túpac Amaru II, Micaela Bastidas, and other captured participants in Cusco. The spectacle aimed to terrorize communities and restore obedience. It shows how...