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Difficulty: EasyShipboard Rebellions and Middle Passage Resistance

In his 1788 publication, *An Account of the Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa*, former ship surgeon Alexander Falconbridge recalled observing crew members placing glowing hot coals near the lips of captive Africans who refused to eat, using physical pain and threats to compel them to take sustenance.

Based on Falconbridge's account, which of the following statements best describes the nature of Middle Passage resistance?

  1. Hunger strikes were active and deliberate actions used by captive Africans to assert control and resist their enslavement during the voyage.Answer
  2. B
    Refusing food was primarily a symptom of physical illness rather than a conscious effort by captives to exercise agency or resist captivity.
  3. C
    Captives relied on hunger strikes because physical mutinies and armed rebellions did not occur on transatlantic slave ships.
  4. D
    Collective food refusal was coordinated by a single, unified West African government prior to the captives' boarding of the vessels.

Answer

Hunger strikes were active and deliberate actions used by captive Africans to assert control and resist their enslavement during the voyage.
The correct answer is supported by the fact that food refusal, or hunger strikes, represented a conscious decision by captive Africans to resist their commodification and assert agency over their own bodies, even under the threat of severe torture.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context of the stimulus from Alexander Falconbridge's 1788 account.
The excerpt describes captives refusing food ('refusing to take sustenance') and the crew using extreme coercion (hot coals) to force them to eat.
To understand the behavior of the captives and the response of the crew as documented by a historical witness.
2
Evaluate how refusing food fits into the broader historical framework of resistance during the Middle Passage.
Refusing to eat was a non-violent but highly disruptive and active form of resistance, demonstrating captive agency in a situation of extreme captivity.
To identify the core historical concept of captive agency and resistance on slave ships.
3
Compare the analysis with the options to identify the correct statement.
The statement describing hunger strikes as active and deliberate actions to assert control is the only historically accurate conclusion.
To select the option that correctly represents the learning objective without underestimating captive agency or homogenizing African history.

Key Concept

Captive agency and Middle Passage resistance through non-violent methods such as hunger strikes.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Shipboard Rebellions and Middle Passage Resistance

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