Rebellion
The Histories of La Amistad Rebels and Tòya
Enslaved and colonized people worked to dismantle colonial rule and end slavery whenever possible. Across the Atlantic world, individuals, groups, and collectives engaged in armed rebellion.
The stories of Tòya, a hero of the Haitian Revolution, and the rebels of La Amistad are gateways to understanding the history of antislavery rebellions.
Slave Ship Rebellions
La Amistad, 1840
Slave ship rebellions were quite common. Many revolts occurred within sight of African shores, as slaving vessels docked at African ports for an average of eight months. As the ships slowly gathered captives before they departed, captives formed social bonds and community, aiding the organization of collective revolt.
Revolts at Sea
Africans constantly resisted enslavement, including during the passage from Africa to colonies and nations across the Atlantic World. This map shows some of the recorded slave ship rebellions.
Over 500 shipboard revolts were recorded between the late 16th and 19th centuries. When successful, Africans killed or captured their enslavers—some even returned to Africa or navigated the vessels to freedom. When unsuccessful, further brutality awaited resisters.
La Amistad
Rebellion at Sea
Woodcut print depicting the revolt on board La Amistad, 1840
In 1839, a group of 53 Africans who had been trafficked from Sierra Leone to Cuba revolted aboard the Spanish slave ship La Amistad. Led by a man named Sengbe, the captives freed themselves, overtook the ship, and demanded that the surviving crew return them to Africa.
In secret, the remaining European sailors steered La Amistad toward the United States. The ship was intercepted in American waters, where the international slave trade had been legally abolished. Brought on American soil, the rebels were arrested and jailed on charges of murder, mutiny, and piracy. Their actions and the ensuing trial sparked international debate over issues of sovereignty and freedom.
Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the African captives were legally free and had the right to resist unlawful slavery. The rebels were left to raise funds for their trip home. With the aid of American abolitionists, 35 survivors returned to Sierra Leone in 1841.
Brothers, we have done that which we purposed. . . . I am resolved it is better to die than to be a white man's slave.
Sengbe, La Amistad rebel, 1839
La Amistad Trial Portraits
In 1840, 18-year-old William Townsend sketched these powerful portraits of La Amistad rebels as they awaited trial in New Haven, Connecticut. Important visual records, these portraits highlight the rebels’ humanity and reveal their determined pursuit of freedom.
African Influence on The Haitian Revolution
Illustration of Bois-Caïman Ceremony, Pola Maneli, 2024
The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) was a series of battles between and among enslaved people, free people of color, and French, British, and Spanish armies. The enslaved revolutionaries were driven by a variety of influences, including their African heritage.
Many fighters in the Revolution were African-born, captured on the continent as captives of war. They drew on prior military experience and African warfare techniques to defeat their opponents.
Alongside military and political strategy, African spirituality was central to Haiti’s liberation. Vodou, an Afro-Haitian religion, is important to the nation’s identity. Many Haitians trace the origins of the Revolution to a Vodou ceremony at the wooded site of Bois-Caïman in the summer of 1791.
Victoria “Tòya” Montou
Drumbeats of Revolution
Haitian Vodou drum, 20th century
Victoria “Tòya” Montou is remembered as a fighter in the Haitian Revolution and a mentor to Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a leader of the Revolution and Haiti’s first president.
Like many women in the Haitian Revolution, the details of Tòya’s life are limited and fragmented. Despite playing crucial roles as armed revolutionaries, spiritual leaders, and medicinal healers, women are underrepresented in the Haitian Revolution’s written record. Today, many Haitian communities commemorate the actions of women who showed remarkable courage and skill in the quest for liberation.
Let us go forth to plant the tree of liberty, breaking the chains of our brothers still held captive under the shameful yoke of slavery.
Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian Revolution, 1797
The Flag of the First Haitian Republic
Flag of the first Republic of Haiti, early 19th century
This historic flag represents a critical moment in the history of the early Republic of Haiti, the first independent Black republic in the Americas. Haiti’s flag was a beacon for the global abolition movement.
The Haitian flag’s origin story recounts revolutionary Jean Jacques Dessalines ripping the band of white from the French flag. Haitian seamstress and patriot Catherine Flon then sewed the remaining red and blue fabric together in what would become Haiti’s first national flag. The red and blue colors may also be connected to Ezili Dantor, a Vodou spirit, or lwa, sometimes referred to as the mother of Haiti.
Artist Spotlight
Nyugen E. Smith Reimagines Flags of Freedom
Flags of Freedom artist Nyugen E. Smith
Flag for the Stono Rebellion (South Carolina), Nyugen E. Smith, 2024
Many stories and objects connected to the lives and actions of enslaved people have been lost to time. This includes banners and flags used in antislavery rebellions and movements.
For this exhibition, artist Nyugen Smith examined historical records and archival accounts to reimagine eight flags associated with antislavery revolts and demonstrations. Smith’s new flags blend historical research with artistic interpretation and allow visitors to consider ideas of collective action, community symbolism, and demands of freedom.
Related Exhibition
Flags of Freedom
Nyugen E. Smith used historical research and archival description to recreate flags associated with antislavery revolts. From the Stono Rebellion in South Carolina to the Bahia Conspiracy in Brazil, these flags represent Black antislavery rebellions across the Atlantic world.
Global Impacts of the Haitian Revolution
Painting depicting the battle of Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue, 1795
The Haitian Revolution inspired many antislavery and anticolonial movements.
After a decade-long war, enslaved and free people of color on the colony of Saint-Domingue secured independence from France and abolished slavery. In 1804, their new nation of Haiti became the first Black republic and the first abolitionist nation in the Atlantic world.
News of the Revolution spread by sea and land, inspiring antislavery and anticolonial movements worldwide. While the Haitian Revolution was not the first rebellion against slavery in the Americas, it was the most successful and had a global impact on the struggle for freedom and equality.
Haiti Inspires Rebels in Curaçao, South Africa, and Greece
Illustration of Revolution for Greek Independence. Pola Maneli, 2024
Illustration of the Curaçao Revolt. Pola Maneli, 2024
For this exhibition, South African artist Pola Maneli illustrated three freedom movements that were influenced by the Haitian Revolution.
News of Haiti’s revolt and independence spread across the Americas. In 1795, free and enslaved people fought for freedom in the Dutch colony of Curaçao. The Curaçao rebels believed that because the European Netherlands were occupied by France—which had abolished slavery in 1793—they, too, should be granted freedom.
In the Cape Colony of southern Africa, an enslaved Mauritian man named Louis learned of the Haitian Revolution from visiting sailors. Reportedly wearing attire like Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, Louis led nearly 350 enslaved rebels in attacks on grain farms over a period of 36 hours.
Haiti also inspired revolutionaries in Greece, Europe’s democratic birthplace. Revolutionaries appealed to Haitian president Jean-Pierre Boyer for support in their fight against the Ottoman Empire. Haiti became the first country to recognize Greece’s independence.
Illustration of Louis van Mauritius, leader of the Cape Town or Jij revolt. Pola Maneli, 2024