Editing Slave rebellion (section)

==Slave ship revolts==
{{See also|United States v. The Amistad}}

There are 485 recorded instances of slaves revolting on board slave ships.<ref name="richardson72">{{cite journal|last=Richardson|first=David|title=Shipboard Revolts, African Authority, and the Atlantic Slave Trade|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|date=January 2001|volume=58|series=3|issue=1|page=72|doi=10.2307/2674419|jstor=2674419|pmid=18634185}}</ref> A few of these ships endured more than one uprising during their career.<ref name="richardson72"/>

Most accounts of revolts aboard slave ships are given by Europeans. There are few examples of accounts by slaves themselves. [[William Snelgrave]] reported that the slaves who revolted on the British ship ''Henry'' in 1721 claimed that those who had captured them were "Rogues to buy them" and that they were bent on regaining their liberty.<ref name="richardson2001">{{cite journal|last=Richardson|first=David|title=Shipboard Revolts, African Authority, and the Atlantic Slave Trade|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|date=January 2001|volume=58|series=3|issue=1|pages=69–92|doi=10.2307/2674419|jstor=2674419|pmid=18634185}}</ref>  Another example that Richardson gives is that of James Towne who gives the account of slaves stating that Europeans did not have the right to enslave and take them away from their homeland and "wives and children".<ref name="richardson11"/>

Richardson compares several factors that contributed to slave revolts on board ships: conditions on the ships, geographical location, and proximity to the shore.<ref name="richardson2001"/>  He suggests that revolts were more likely to occur when a ship was still in sight of the shore. The threat of attack from the shore by other Africans was also a concern. If the ship was hit by disease and a large portion of the crew had been killed, the chances of insurrection were higher.<ref name="richardson2001"/>  Where the slaves were captured also had an effect on the number of insurrections.<ref name="richardson2001"/> In many places, such as the [[Bight of Benin]] and the [[Bight of Biafra]], the percentage of revolts and the percentage of the slave trade match up.<ref name="richardson2001"/> Yet ships taking slaves from [[Senegambia]] experienced 22 percent of shipboard revolts while only contributing to four and a half percent of the slave trade.<ref name="richardson11">{{cite journal|last=Richardson|first=David|title=Shipboard Revolts, African Authority, and the Atlantic Slave Trade|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|year=2001|volume=58|issue=1|pages=69–92|doi=10.2307/2674419|jstor=2674419|pmid=18634185}}</ref> Slaves coming from West Central Africa accounted for 44 percent of the trade while only experiencing 11 percent of total revolts.<ref name="richardson11"/>  
	
Lorenzo J. Greene gives many accounts of slave revolts on ships coming out of New England. These ships belonged to Puritans who controlled much of the slave trade in New England.<ref>{{cite book|last=Greene|first=Lorenzo|title=Mutiny on Slave Ships|page=346}}</ref> Most revolts on board ships were unsuccessful.  The crews of these ships, while outnumbered, were disciplined, well fed, and armed with muskets, swords, and sometimes cannons, and they were always on guard for resistance.<ref name="greene1">{{cite book|last=Greene|first=Lorenzo|title=Mutiny on Slave Ships}}</ref> The slaves on the other hand were the opposite, armed only with bits of wood and the chains that bound them.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mutiny on Slave Ships|last=Greene|page=347}}</ref>

However, some captives were able to take over the ships that were their prisons and regain their freedom.  On October 5, 1764 the New Hampshire ship ''Adventure'' captained by John Millar was successfully taken by the enslaved aboard.<ref name="greene1"/> The slaves on board revolted while the ship was anchored off the coast and all but two of the crew, including Captain Millar, had succumbed to disease.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mutiny on Slave Ships|last=Greene|page=349}}</ref>  Another successful slave revolt occurred six days after the ship ''Little George'' had left the Guinea coast.  The ship carried ninety-six slaves, thirty-five of which were male.<ref name="greene1"/> The slaves attacked in the early hours of the morning, easily overpowering the two men on guard.  The slaves were able to load one of the cannons on board and fire it at the crew.  After taking control of the ship they sailed it up the [[Sierra Leone River]] and escaped.<ref name="greene1"/> After having defended themselves with muskets for several days below decks the crew lowered a small boat into the river to escape.  After nine days of living on raw rice they were rescued.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mutiny on Slave Ships|last=Greene|page=351}}</ref>

Mariana P. Candido notes that enslaved Africans worked on the ships that transported other Africans into slavery.  These men, 230 in all,<ref name="candido400">{{cite journal|last=Candido|first=Mariana P.|title=Different Slave Journeys: Enslaved African Seamen on Board Portuguese Ships c. 1760–1820s|date=September 2010|volume=31|issue=3|page=400}}</ref> were used onboard slave ships for their ability to communicate with the slaves being brought on board and to translate between Captain and slaver.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Candido|page=397}}</ref> Enslaved sailors were able to alleviate some of the fears that newly boarded slaves had, such as fear of being eaten.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Candido|first=Mariana P.|title=Different Slave Journeys: Enslaved African Seamen on Board Portuguese Ships c. 1760–1820s|date=September 2010|volume=31|issue=3}}</ref> This was a double-edged sword.  The enslaved sailors sometimes joined other slaves in the revolts against the captain they served.  In 1812 enslaved sailors joined a revolt on board the Portuguese ship ''Feliz Eugenia'' just off the coast of [[Benguela]].<ref name="candido400"/> The revolt took place below decks.  The sailors, along with many of the children who were on board, were able to escape using small boats.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Candido|page=398}}</ref>