Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War
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- Create Date：2022-01-19 10:19:04
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Vincent Brown
- ISBN：0674260295
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Tova
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This was really comprehensive and interesting。 It was a lot for my finals-addled man， but I'm glad I read it。 This was really comprehensive and interesting。 It was a lot for my finals-addled man， but I'm glad I read it。 。。。more
Mills College Library
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306。36209 B8814 2020
Cara Byrne
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A 2021 Anisfield-Wolf award winner。
2TReads
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I just want to thank Vincent Brown for this absolutely needed historical record and exploration of a period in my island's history that needs to be spoken of more。Such a wealth of information and dissection of the theatre of war and enslavement and the responses to and repercussions of the revolts that reverberated across the British 'empire'。There is a certain satisfaction， a fulfilling openness when you read a well-researched， illuminating account that traces a significant part of your island' I just want to thank Vincent Brown for this absolutely needed historical record and exploration of a period in my island's history that needs to be spoken of more。Such a wealth of information and dissection of the theatre of war and enslavement and the responses to and repercussions of the revolts that reverberated across the British 'empire'。There is a certain satisfaction， a fulfilling openness when you read a well-researched， illuminating account that traces a significant part of your island's rich， dark， bloody， and too often colonially-drenched history。Brown gives us just that with Tacky's Revolt: he delves into just more than the almost year long revolts that saw the destruction and paralysis of the empire's wealth。 He details what must have been the slave's strategy， how they communicated， and how in executing， they were able to achieve success or failure。 He traces the emergence of the slave trade， the dominion of the trade routes， battles and skirmishes between the colonial nations， and the role played by powerful kingdoms and tribes of Africa along the Gold and Slave Coasts。Brown also shows the duplicity of the white man， how their accounts both marveled and undersold the intellect and staunchness of our ancestors， how it took them a while to adapt to the battle stratagem of the slaves， how they had to move towards securing a treaty with the Maroons in order to have a chance at quelling rebellions and catching runaways。 It is important to note that Brown goes beyond just the revolts and uprisings on the island of Jamaica， he also traces the prowess of the enslaved， how they assembled， and the influence of their battle experience that they would have retained from the motherland。Revolts and rebellions caused rippling effects that affected more than the productivity of plantations: they unsettled white "sensibilities"， planted fear， mobilized the army and navy of the colonial settlers， led to emboldening enslaved on other nations， and disrupted shipping and commerce upon which the "empire" depended。 。。。more
Katy Nimmons
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Fantastic。 Completely changed the way I think about slave rebellions。 Brown's argument is that uprisings in Jamaica and other parts of the Americas were not just a natural resistance to enslavement， but also a continuation of conflicts between West Africans and Europeans in West Africa， and of conflicts within and between West Africans （in Africa and in the Americans）。 In fact， the slave uprisings were closer to guerrilla warfare campaigns， coordinated by experienced military leaders。 The Britis Fantastic。 Completely changed the way I think about slave rebellions。 Brown's argument is that uprisings in Jamaica and other parts of the Americas were not just a natural resistance to enslavement， but also a continuation of conflicts between West Africans and Europeans in West Africa， and of conflicts within and between West Africans （in Africa and in the Americans）。 In fact， the slave uprisings were closer to guerrilla warfare campaigns， coordinated by experienced military leaders。 The British soothed themselves by framing revolts as isolated incidents in response to particular conditions on particular plantations， but the Jamaican uprisings in the mid-18th century were part of a broader pattern of transatlantic warfare。 。。。more
Diana Thorburn
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Disclaimer: I’ve never studied history per se， except insofar as historical events have been germane to other subjects， such as Latin American history when I did Latin American politics， or US history vis-à-vis US foreign policy。Nor am I well read in #JamaicanHistory。So my recent reading of Island on Fire， and now Tacky’s Revolt， have been， for me， nothing short of revelatory。I have written and re-written this post so many times because there is just so much。 A proper review requires an essay。It Disclaimer: I’ve never studied history per se， except insofar as historical events have been germane to other subjects， such as Latin American history when I did Latin American politics， or US history vis-à-vis US foreign policy。Nor am I well read in #JamaicanHistory。So my recent reading of Island on Fire， and now Tacky’s Revolt， have been， for me， nothing short of revelatory。I have written and re-written this post so many times because there is just so much。 A proper review requires an essay。It brings together the wars in West and Central Africa， the Atlantic wars， the slave trade， and the slave uprisings in Jamaica （and other colonies） in a way that is mind-blowing。 I have such a richer understanding of， well， everything。 #JoyofReading #LifelongLearnerA few thoughts:📚This is not an academic history book。 i。e。 it not boring。 At all。 On the contrary。📚 How @professorvbrown managed to weave together so many different strands， dynamics， forces， players， and histories was incredible。 I am in awe。 #WritingGoals #inspiration📚The book isn’t all about the bravery and intelligence and cunning and resilience of enslaved people， though there is a lot of that， and I have to admit that I felt an unfamiliar pride reading it。 They also committed some heinous acts， including against and to each other。📚 There is a lot that is hard to read。 How the rebels were tortured and executed after the St。 Mary uprising， the atrocities committed by the counterinsurgency during the Westmoreland uprising… sigh。。。 this country is steeped in barbarity。 #LivingHistory📚 I essentially read this book twice。 A few of the chapters I listened to the audiobook， but then I went right back and re-read the entire chapter after。📚 I want to go around the entire island and identify all the places that feature in the book。 I have an idea that a #JamaicanHistory tour could be designed with this book as the basis。 。。。more
Seth W
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While I do appreciate Vincent Brown framing the Atlantic Slave revolts/wars into the wider Atlantic System， I find his writing style unnecessary complex， filed with buzzwords fit for impressing others in a university setting but that have the effect of interfering with an otherwise compelling message。 This is just one example of how the book reads- "Such struggles over belonging and affiliation marked territory and its shifting contours。 Rather than allowing imperial or national boundaries to de While I do appreciate Vincent Brown framing the Atlantic Slave revolts/wars into the wider Atlantic System， I find his writing style unnecessary complex， filed with buzzwords fit for impressing others in a university setting but that have the effect of interfering with an otherwise compelling message。 This is just one example of how the book reads- "Such struggles over belonging and affiliation marked territory and its shifting contours。 Rather than allowing imperial or national boundaries to define their spatial imaginations， subject peoples indexed their own groupings in various ways， creating distinct， intersecting， and rival geographies" Really？？ There is not a more simplistic way to make his point？ This is how the book reads， and it is unfortunate as I like the broader global context that the author places Tacky's revolt， but it seems he is trying to impress with writing style that。 Unfortunate， to create such a plodding work as the thesis and message are compelling。 I enjoyed the connection between European wars and hostility， England's grown hegemony of a waring state protecting economic sea lanes， the impact that has on intensifying war and waring states in West Africa that contribute to the enslavement of Africans sent to the Caribbean， and the nuanced and layered motivations and complexities of enslaved peoples in the Caribbean and Jamaica in particular。 。。。more
Akitwana
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Very dense， but very informative。 Slow at first， but gets more interesting as you keep reading
Jim Sojourner
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An important reframing of the geography of the Seven Years War。 Rich on detail， unseen connections， and heavy on comparative inferences to fill in the evidentiary gaps。
Joma
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Loved this narrative。
Mike Emett
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Required reading for a graduate seminar， Historians debate the American Revolution。
foxfire
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Amazing book。 Accessibly written， provides a healthy context and gets straight to the point: Tacky's Revolt was simply one of many battles against slavery in the West Indies， and this war on slavery demands our closer attention in the greater scheme of history of liberation struggles。 Recommended reading for any abolitionist， anti-racist， as well as anyone interested in the history of slavery and the West Indies。 With a slight focus on the military genius of the enslaved rebels， this also deserv Amazing book。 Accessibly written， provides a healthy context and gets straight to the point: Tacky's Revolt was simply one of many battles against slavery in the West Indies， and this war on slavery demands our closer attention in the greater scheme of history of liberation struggles。 Recommended reading for any abolitionist， anti-racist， as well as anyone interested in the history of slavery and the West Indies。 With a slight focus on the military genius of the enslaved rebels， this also deserves a spot on the bookshelves of insurgency and guerilla warfare。 。。。more
Rock
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Powerful and fascinating it its detail and minutiae。 I particularly enjoyed the author's attempts to personalize the events through the sparse， remaining， first-hand narratives。 The tone is academic， though， which gets dry at times。 Powerful and fascinating it its detail and minutiae。 I particularly enjoyed the author's attempts to personalize the events through the sparse， remaining， first-hand narratives。 The tone is academic， though， which gets dry at times。 。。。more
Roland
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Tacky’s revolt plunges the reader in the events surrounding the consequential Coromentee wars （1760 - 1761） and its lasting effects in the Caribbean as well as in the Americas。 Vincent Brown took an uncharted course of historiography， linking the tribal wars on the Gold Coast of Africa， the revolutionary revolts in Jamaica and other Caribbean colonies as well as the American revolution of 76。 Far from being a limited reaction to coercive conditions of life-plantations， the slave wars were a cons Tacky’s revolt plunges the reader in the events surrounding the consequential Coromentee wars （1760 - 1761） and its lasting effects in the Caribbean as well as in the Americas。 Vincent Brown took an uncharted course of historiography， linking the tribal wars on the Gold Coast of Africa， the revolutionary revolts in Jamaica and other Caribbean colonies as well as the American revolution of 76。 Far from being a limited reaction to coercive conditions of life-plantations， the slave wars were a conscious negotiations of the slaves with the new geographical， political and social settings they found themselves in， trying to carve themselves out a place for a life of dignity and autonomy。 Drawing on their martial experiences in their natives land and a geography propitious for guerrilla warfare， the book follows their struggles， aspirations and conflicts the in the broader context of imperial wars， fighting for their desire to build a new life in a new land。 Putting on the forefront of the history of Jamaica figures such as Tacky， Apongo （Wager） and Simon， all rebel leaders， the book re-draw the picture of social and economic dynamics that shaped the the fate of European colonial possessions in the Caribbean， giving due credit to the revolts wars as decisive in shaping the future of the region。 The book deserve accolades for its thorough research and fresh take on slave history as well as its contribution in countering stereotypes against African slaves in colonies who， among other things， have been robbed of their place in history。 A wonderful history read， with a great prose。 It is totally worth the effort。 。。。more
Nathan Albright
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This is a book which could be a lot better than it is， and the faults of this book are entirely the result of an author is working too hard to impress the reader on how knowledgeable he is about Atlantic history and how woke he is for considering slavery as well as anti-slavery revolts to be warfare。 The author's strident left-wing bias makes him a booster for the violent behavior of the various leaders of slave revolts， who thought they had a chance for victory when they in fact did not， a prob This is a book which could be a lot better than it is， and the faults of this book are entirely the result of an author is working too hard to impress the reader on how knowledgeable he is about Atlantic history and how woke he is for considering slavery as well as anti-slavery revolts to be warfare。 The author's strident left-wing bias makes him a booster for the violent behavior of the various leaders of slave revolts， who thought they had a chance for victory when they in fact did not， a problem that similarly afflicted many indigenous peoples who fought local wars against opponents with massive demographic advantages they simply could not fathom。 In reading this book I was struck by the way that the author managed to provide insights into counter-revolutionary techniques almost in spite of himself。 In the author's mind， revolutionaries are to be praised even when unsuccessful， for me， it was pleasing to see the success of counter-revolutionary forces in dealing with acts of warfare， and I think it would be useful to see the petty aspects of crime and urban terrorism that go on nowadays as being acts of warfare that can and should be dealt with harshly。 The author considers petty civil unrest to be war？ Then let us have war。This book is about 250 pages long and most of it is setup， the actual events themselves being rather short and the main subject of interest to the author the links between slave revolts in Jamaica and the world of the slave trade in Africa。 The book begins with a list of illustration and a prologue that discusses the path to Rebel's Barricade， a structure built by slave rebels that found itself named on the map。 The author then discusses the development of African realms and their relationship with slave traders， showing that the growth of the slave trade led certain peoples to become much more powerful and others to be overwhelmed as a result （1）。 After that the author discusses the Jamaica Garrison and the society that developed in Jamaica as a result of the use of slavery for the basis of its economy （2）。 The author then looks at the Coromantee territory as it developed in Africa as well as Jamaica （3）， before finally starting a discussion of the titular subject more than halfway into the book with a look at Tacky's premature revolt （4）。 This is followed by a discussion of the broader Coromantee War （5） that developed right when Jamaica was supposed to be depleted of its military， as well as a discussion of the effects of the revolt on British imperialism， Jamaica's support of British imperial efforts， and the future of slave revolts in the Caribbean， as well as the loss of Coromantee as a useful description of the slaves that became acculturated to Jamaica over the decades and the blacks in freedom afterwards （6）。 The book ends with an epilogue about the age of slave war， notes， acknowledgements， and an index。Despite the fact that the author and I are clearly of directly opposing political worldviews， it is not as if the author's analysis is worthless。 For all of his flaws in supporting the violence of subaltern groups and hypocritically decrying the violence that is done to preserve a just law and order （or， when it comes to slavery， an unjust law and order）， the author's analysis in connecting together what have appeared to others to be unrelated slave wars with a coordinated effort where the timing was missed， and with the larger Atlantic history of the people involved， is immensely worthwhile。 The author also notes， interestingly enough， that the effort of Tacky's Revolt ended up playing a role in the successful slave revolt in Haiti that took place only three to four decades later， putting an obscure slave uprising that may be misnamed into a larger context that involves the divisions among blacks， the contrary desires of whites to preserve their labor force and social distinctions while also securing their own safety and that of their neighbors in a social system whose operation required a great deal of violence to effectively run into a context that is impressive even if its slant is misguided。 If the author's overscrupulous concern for subaltern groups leads him astray， his desire to connect things together is interesting even for those readers who disagree with him。 。。。more
Reading
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This rating may be unfair， but I found the book to be exhausting to read。To be clear: Brown is an incredible researcher， and the content here is very valuable。 His theses is also incredibly interesting: slavery as a form of continuous war， and slave revolts as part of a larger "world war" happening in the Atlantic in the latter half of the 18th century。 Amazing stuff。But Vincent Brown is a Harvard professor and a veteran academic。 This book is written not for the casual summer reader or even the This rating may be unfair， but I found the book to be exhausting to read。To be clear: Brown is an incredible researcher， and the content here is very valuable。 His theses is also incredibly interesting: slavery as a form of continuous war， and slave revolts as part of a larger "world war" happening in the Atlantic in the latter half of the 18th century。 Amazing stuff。But Vincent Brown is a Harvard professor and a veteran academic。 This book is written not for the casual summer reader or even the semi-serious historian。 This is not pop history。 It's HISTORY with a capital H。 It is a book by a serious academic FOR serious academics。 It reminded me of a lot of the research papers I was assigned as homework in college， and that's what reading this book felt like: heady， difficult homework。Again， the rating may be unfair。 It is perhaps more of a reflection on the reader than on the book， but I walk away mostly just being glad I've finished it and that I don't have to write a report on it！ 。。。more
Tyler Wolanin
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A great academic history book; a thorough treatment of information that must be read from between the lines of Atlantic history。 Full review: https://tylerwolanin。com/2020/6/10/wh。。。 A great academic history book; a thorough treatment of information that must be read from between the lines of Atlantic history。 Full review: https://tylerwolanin。com/2020/6/10/wh。。。 。。。more
Casey Cep
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“Because slaveholders wrote the first draft of history，” Vincent Brown laments， “subsequent historiography has strained to escape from their point of view。” But “Tacky’s Revolt” is a fine start， rescuing even minor acts of resistance from the contemporaneous accounts of men like Long， and making a coherent whole out of the diffuse， chaotic attempt to wage war on enslavers。 The book is a sobering read for contemporary audiences in countries engaged in forever wars， reminding us how easily and arb “Because slaveholders wrote the first draft of history，” Vincent Brown laments， “subsequent historiography has strained to escape from their point of view。” But “Tacky’s Revolt” is a fine start， rescuing even minor acts of resistance from the contemporaneous accounts of men like Long， and making a coherent whole out of the diffuse， chaotic attempt to wage war on enslavers。 The book is a sobering read for contemporary audiences in countries engaged in forever wars， reminding us how easily and arbitrarily the edges of empire， and its evils， can fade from or focus our vision。 It is also a useful reminder that the distinction between victory and defeat， when it comes to insurgencies， is often fleeting: Tacky may have lost his battle， but the enslaved did eventually win the war。Full review at “The New Yorker”: https://www。newyorker。com/magazine/20。。。 。。。more
Kalu
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This is the real deal
Justinian
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2020-03 – Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War。 Vincent Brown （Author） 2020。 336 Pages。I stumbled across this book thanks to C-Span。 I thought it looked interesting and recorded the author’s presentation at The Museum of The American Revolution。 Ten minutes into his captivating talk I logged on and put a hold on this book at my local library。 I am glad I did。 The book expanded my understanding of warfare in the 18th century。 I also gave me a deeper understanding of the slaveholding 2020-03 – Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War。 Vincent Brown （Author） 2020。 336 Pages。I stumbled across this book thanks to C-Span。 I thought it looked interesting and recorded the author’s presentation at The Museum of The American Revolution。 Ten minutes into his captivating talk I logged on and put a hold on this book at my local library。 I am glad I did。 The book expanded my understanding of warfare in the 18th century。 I also gave me a deeper understanding of the slaveholding societies that populated the Atlantic world。 I would eventually extract five pages of notes and list several books from its text and bibliographic material to read at a later date。 The author’s thesis is that slave revolts should be understood in a broader context than as an isolated revolt。 We must consider the past history of the enslaved people in their entirety。 That many of the enslaved brought with them from Africa experience in warfare， politics， and animosities from tribal warfare and biases。 This background does not leave memory when they were transported and set to task in the sugar fields of the Caribbean。 Elements and connections of this past can be seen in their actions and choices。 Forms of conflict at the tactical， spiritual and operational fit existing African patterns。 The author states that the purpose of this book is not to search people to award medals to or to hold up for their actions as examples because preferences of heroes and villains change through time， rather he goal was to further understanding。 Understanding of motives， choices， and actions taken。 To this end he does a marvelous and succinct job of explaining the role of slavery and white supremacy in the British imperial expansion and empire。 For many readers this will be an eye opening read in that regards as the fact that slavery existed is understood but its rationale and machinations and deeper effects are little studied or understood。 Aside from this deep exploration underpinning all of it is the fascinating military history of Jamaica itself。 I was already familiar with the First and Second Maroon Wars but the depth of societal militarization and slavery roles in that as well as Jamaica’s numerous other internal conflicts and its outsized role in as the British outpost and fortress in the Americas was illuminating。 Too often those of us in the USA see， because of chauvinism in our education system， the 13 colonies as the lynchpin and center of the British Empire when in reality they were not。 The American Revolutionary War existed in an American Hemispheric， nay， a worldwide struggle。 Losing its Caribbean colonies would have cost the British far more than losing 13 of its 24+ colonies。 This book may be the most effective book I have read in making that point clear。 。。。more
Eric
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Brilliant， Important， Beautiful
Chad
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