Bondmen and Rebels: A Study of Master-Slave Relations in Antigua; with Implications for Colonial British America

Apart from the murder of its governor in 1711 by rioting colonists, the history of Antigua is perhaps best known for a widespread slave conspiracy that was discovered on the island in 1736. It is of particular interest, because it provides one of the first instances in the British Caribbean of African creole slaves joining together in revolt, and an early example, too, of black rebels aiming to destroy a slave system rather than just escape from it. Gaspar uses the event as a window on the evolution of slavery in the British Leeward Isles during the century before 1760. His book is divided into three parts. The first meticulously unravels the 1736 plot, proceeding step-by-step through trial records of notable thoroughness. Part 2 is an examination of slave society in Antigua. Separate discussions are devoted to African recruitment, plantation life, and social control. The third section explores patterns of slave resistance. It shows how the incidence and nature of running away, rebellion, and intracommunal crime varied through time, and it tries to relate such variation to a wide range of causal factors. The author consistently avoids easy explanations, and displays sensitivity and resourcefulness in extracting meaning from evidence of very uneven value. The book’s relevance is broadened by frequent and extensive references to studies of slavery elsewhere (though principally in British America). It is an important contribution to the literature on slave resistance and to our knowledge of one of the least studied periods in British West Indian history.