Punishments of the slaves

The majority of the Masters inflicted to their slaves a
multitude of torments aiming meurtrir, mutilating and at killing.

Many of these "punishments" were tested initially in Brazil by the
Portuguese colonists on their slaves or in the Spanish colonies before
applying in the English, French colonies or Dutchwomen of the
Caribbean.

The majority of the Masters inflicted to their slaves a
multitude of torments aiming meurtrir, mutilating and at killing.

Many of these "punishments" were tested initially in Brazil by the
Portuguese colonists on their slaves or in the Spanish colonies before
applying in the English, French colonies or Dutchwomen of the
Caribbean.

To exert its violence, the Master could:

To hang, coil sharp, burn sharp, hang and burn, cut the wrist, to
trail and hang, cut the bulge and to fade (to mark with red iron), to
whip, put at the yoke, to cut the language, to bore the language, to
cut the ears and to fade, attach the slave to 4 stakes, to put at the
dungeon, to hang by the perforated ear, to put a tinplate mask
prohibiting to eat cane, to put chains, to castrate, cut the arms and
the legs, to bury to the neck, to break the bones with blow of stick,
bar of iron or hammer, to tear off teeth, to make hunger attached to a
tree, to force a slave to dig his tomb and to bury it alive, drown,
sew the mouth with brasswire, to rape, cut up, burn women after having
had the centres and the sex flarings and transpierced, to attach
slaves to piles close to the invaded zones of mosquitos, etc.

Resistances of the slaves

A "resistance from day to day" is detected in all the spheres
of the activity of the slave and appears initially in its work.

That it was on the plantation, with the mine or in the house of the
Master, the Black opposed its favorite weapons: inefficiency,
deliberated idleness, refusal to work, sabotage of the task, temporary
escape to withdraw itself, by often simulating the disease, or under
various pretexts. With that are added the pilfering, the lie, the
dissimulation, dodging, the abortion, the child murder, the satire, the
suicide, the voluntary fires.

Finally there are the revolts, individual and collective which were
numerous during the 5 centuries of the European slave system.

The forests, marshes, mountains were ideal hiding-places for the
slaves in escape. The runaway slaves (fugitive) gathered in small
communities ("mocambo" or "quilombo" in Brazil) which made the
war with the colonial system.