Sabotage, Sedition and Sundry Acts of Rebellion

Gr 5–8—Aretha chronicles accounts of African American slaves who fought for their freedom on slave ships, plantations, and wherever else they were held against their will. One of the first documented slave rebellions occured in New York City in 1712. Acts of resistance took many forms, including running away, breaking tools, damaging equipment, and deliberately slowing down their work. Well-known slave insurrections that took place in the South are included in this volume, such as those led by Gabriel Prosser in 1799, Denmark Vesey in 1822, and Nat Turner in 1831. Aretha includes information on slave rebellions in the West Indies, conditions endured by the slaves, vulnerabilities and dangers faced by enslaved women, the abolitionist movement, and the Civil War, with its Emancipation Proclamation and enlistment of African American soldiers. Concisely written and nicely illustrated with maps and period photographs, this is a welcome addition.—Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel