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5 Slave Ship Uprisings Other Than Amistad

With Black people all over the world getting majority of their education from European and American-centered institutions, many may think that our African ancestors were completely submissive on the ship vessels on their way to the Americas during the Trans Atlantic slave trade. That is far from the truth.

The truth is, roughly 15 percent to 20 percent of the ships which left Africa never made it to the “new world.” Thousands of vessels were overtaken by the enslaved Africans on board. During some of these takeovers, these Africans, who were sometimes warriors, rose up and killed every white man on these ships. Some of these ships were sailed back to Africa by the once captured men, thousands of the ships disappeared at sea, and many never made it far from the African shores before being overrun.

Below are 5 great examples of these revolts:

ship uprising 2

The Creole Ship UprisingOn Oct. 27, 1841, the vessel ship the Creole sailed from Richmond, Va.,  with 135 enslaved Africans, bound for New Orleans. On board was Madison Washington, who had escaped slavery to Canada in 1840 at age 25, but was later captured and sold when he returned to Virginia in search of his wife Susan.

Unbeknown to Washington, Susan was among the captives on board the Creole. Susan had been considered the faithful servant of her mistress, and traveled to places like White Sulphur Springs and Norfolk on vacations. She was sold because her mistress believed she knew where Washington had escaped to and refused to reveal his whereabouts.

During the trip, at least 14 African men unshackled themselves in the forward hold of the ship. They waited for the right moment to take action, moving to the quarter deck, picking up weapons as they moved along. Officers and crew were quickly overcome in the surprise attack. Washington reportedly “plunged into [the fight] without any care for his own preservation or safety.” By one account, Washington and the men clubbed some of crew members to death and held the rest of the them captive.  With loaded muskets, the Africans took command of the Creole with Washington as captain. He demanded that the ship be steered into British territory, which at the time had already abandoned slavery.

On the ship, enslaved women were kept in a different quarters than the men, so it was not until after Susan was set free from her shackles that she saw her husband aboard the Creole.  The two reportedly ran to each other, tearfully hugging as they wept while their fellow-survivors cheered.

The Creole later arrived at Nassau, New Providence, where they were all set free by British authorities.

What people are saying

50 thoughts on “5 Slave Ship Uprisings Other Than Amistad

  1. Tru Wordz says:

    Yes they would never make a movie about this they don't like to hear about us fighting back. Score 5 fo tha home team. Kill them rednecks

  2. Fight the Good fight…even today the struggle continues…

  3. Fred Timmons says:

    Throughout history, all groups have had their hands in the 'slave trade.' Heck, today slavery is alive and well- even when you take away forced prison labor (North Korea and China come right to mind- keep buying those electronics, funding slavery in Asia), it's number is higher than ever. Think I'm lying? http://www.freetheslaves.net/document.doc?id=34

  4. Mike Davis says:

    Ideas for the next round of African slave era movies.

  5. Thank you, Atlanta BlackStar for publishing this important piece of hidden history

  6. Antonio B Martins Jr says:

    GREAT READ…………..

  7. How dare those damn dirty niggas fight back! Don't they know that there life's true purpose is to be the property of good Christian White folks? This is a travesty of justice and why we don't hear about it….lol! I can't even TYPE this with a straight face…. this is an excellent read… Spike.. Steve McQueen… we need to see it on the big screen C'Mon what you waiting for!

  8. The Black history we dont get taught!

  9. Steve McQueen Spike Lee… Whaddaya say fellas! lol!

  10. How about black slave labor in America's prisons.? We only need to look in your/our own backyard.

  11. How about black slave labor in America's prisons.? We only need to look in your/our own backyard.

  12. Kill them white supremacists!

  13. Guro Dave says:

    Very interesting.

  14. Fred Timmons says:

    Katrina Hazzard – in a sense yes. But China and North Korea don't even need any reason. Heck, North Korea has prison camps where babies are born into and never leave. And I'm not saying we don't have wrongful convictions here, it does happen to people of all colors here and around the world. Statistically impossible not to happen when dealing with large numbers.

  15. Clara DeLay says:

    Now I understand the psyche behind the ruthless cruelty exhibited towards other humans! Even after enslavement, they still had intimidate, annihilate, emasculate to instill the notion that they were superior, and quash the possibility of an uprising by "divide and conquer," which still works well today! Note that the uprisings on the slave ships were a concerted effort…

  16. This is movie worthy story.

  17. The need to do a movie about it.

  18. Iris Nixon says:

    This material must be taught at home because you will never read it in a text book! Movie and documentary on the way. Way to go Ghana, Senegal, West Africa… K

  19. Sundiata Keita says:

    awesome info i can pass to my son.
    them crackahs will never make a movie about this cause its black men doing for black men, any other movies where black men are strong they have to be helped by a white man or helping a white woman.

  20. Lol, what comes around goes around. Should've stayed out of Africa.

  21. It's quite amazing, EVERY single time when we are talking about the transatlantic slave trade some white person have to step forward and say "all races have been involved in slavetrade… bla bla bla.." No matter how many other nations or peoples did the same crime to humanity, the white europeans still did what they did to all those africans!! WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!! Don't think for a second that you can get away with this just because "others did it too".

  22. I love hearing of these stories. I love hearing how that evil beast white man had been defeated & destroyed while trying to enslave us. I only wish I could have been there to witness these glorious battles for freedom.

  23. You white fools ALWAYS come up with that as an answer. It is strange how you cannot take complete responsibility for your past and present evil.

  24. …and help out a lil' bit! 🙂

  25. But it seems all that ZIONIST hollywood will show are movies like THE HELP, 12 YEARS A (fuckin) SLAVE, THE BUTLER, & DRIVING MS. DAISEY etc. It is sickening. We must begin controlling our own images. Remember these are the people who gave you AL JOLSON!

  26. Tammie Williams says:

    Amazing

  27. Robby Breadner says:

    Joseph Garcia, you are a reminder that racism comes in all colours.

  28. David McCorn says:

    Fred Timmons – As expected, the Black story must always be deminished or compared too, or explained away.

  29. Fred Timmons says:

    Maria Tenaye Bergenbrant – I am a Choctaw, meaning a minority in the best sense in this country (that is not my picture, that is a little girl). I am not denying or interested in re-writing history. I even posted this up because I thought it was a great piece of what happened more often than what is ever truly discussed, to open more peoples eyes. Can't blame, hell I applaud, what went down on these uprisings. My point was that the slave trade has always existed and still does today( highest numbers ever, read the article I linked in), and every creed/color has been on both ends of 'the stick' if you will- not asking anybody to forget, heck, I'm was trying to get the word out that it is still very much alive & thriving. To deny it is foolish, but to claim that one is worse than the other is also strange. As far as me "Getting away with it," exactly what do you mean? I've never owned slaves, nor want/wanted to. Think it's evil. My forefathers got to walk "The Trail of Tears." Funny thing is, now we are celebrating 26 years as a military supplier. That's how you "Turn it around."

  30. Make our own dang movies and keep ALL the money!

  31. My Nassau born Mother was glad to hear about the Creole!

  32. Sean Moseley says:

    these are information we don't know about the Africans mean history,but we hear a lot about the European history, but we hear about the hollicas was committed by the Europeans on Europeans and every time you open the newspaper and there and if a discourse hear you hear the cries of what the Nessie, carry out it against them and every time in the world we hear it in the us, the Britain, Canada and France they keep saying it is atrocity but those are the against Africans ways of life and they never speak about it but we are saying just the same way they speak of hollicas they should be speaking about the atrocity against the African man . and the African can't go anywhere in the world to say to the American, the British the French government and say that slavery was committed by the Europeans so as for me this is where my position lies is that is the way that the Africans story must be told

  33. Ibn Askia says:

    This is a piece of history that most of us are not taught in school. Keep the info coming. The struggle never stops.

  34. Isi Amodu says:

    Fred Timmons It wasn't subsharian Africans who owned white slaves during the Barbary Slave era but rather muslim arab slavers who also enslaved Black Africans. There is always this attempt by whites to minimise the Transatlantic slave trade as if it was just a mere detail in history rahter than the Holocaust that it was. Why is that I wonder? They don't do it with the jewish holocaust, that's untouchable. It's estimated that up to 30 million Africans were lost as a result of the European Slave trade, you will never get us to forget it, minimise it or equate it with other foms of slavery, it is your historical legacy and there's no running away from it.

  35. Iris Nixon can u let us know when the movie or documentary is released

  36. Stephanie Hymon says:

    Wow didn't know this u leave something new every day

  37. Queen Mother says:

    "Queen Mother" is a book that provides a powerful, hopeful and uplifting alternative to the finality of the Middle Passage. http://amzn.to/1fY17EP

  38. Brick Mizer says:

    For movies to be made, they must first pass an all white government council. That's why Nat Turner has never graced the silver screen.

  39. ON THE ATROCIOUS DEHUMANIZATION OF AFRICANS/BLACKS AND PLUNDERING OF AFRICAN/BLACK RESOURCES/WEALTH BY THE WEST/ARABIANS/AUSTRALIANS!

    "Honestly, if I were to be an enlightened/well-educated European or American, Arabian or Australians, especially if I have any beneficial linkage to the so-called 'slaves' trading or owning families, I will shamefully, remorsefully and meekly spend my entire life as a 'humanitarian' and/or 'philanthropist' using the available resources/wealth at my disposal to do reparation, render penitential services and do charity work in Africa and among the black communities in Europe, Americas, Arabia or Australia in an effort to seek for forgiveness from Africans/blacks, the humanity and God Almighty just in atonement for the atrocities and barbaric past of the parents/forebears of the present Europeans, Americans, Arabians and Australians whom their families, businesses and countries actually owe whatever wealth, achievement or development they may claim they have made today to the toils, sweat and blood of Africans/blacks whom they sacrilegious dehumanized as well as forcefully turned to beasts of burden and commodities for trade through their heinous slave trading expeditions in Africa and the diaspora, the criminal colonization of Africa and devilish plundering of Africa/black communities in their inordinate rapacity and greed for African/black resources/wealth" – Comrade (Barrister) Benedict Chu'O Ezeagu, Founding Executive Director, Movement for African Independence and Development(MAID).

  40. Terron Snackz Edwards, you are right, that would made a great love action story.

  41. See you need to learn your history! White man was slave first in Africa. Who builds the pyramids. ..white man build the pyramids while black man was kings and queens

  42. See you need to learn your history! White man was slave first in Africa. Who builds the pyramids. ..white man build the pyramids while black man was kings and queens

  43. We are all human! No matter what color you may be !

  44. We are all human! No matter what color you may be !

  45. Cheryl Frye says:

    But I do want the dress Vanessa how much keep it for me

  46. Hi Danny Buntly L. Roadrunner

  47. Somtimes this happened in the middle of the Ocean, and after they took over the boat. They turned around and went right back home

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