Resistance Before Enslavement

Before enslaved Africans even reached the ships, they were already fighting back.

The moment captives realized they were being taken, resistance began. In holding facilities

along the coast, Africans would refuse food, attack guards, or set fires to

escape. Some tried poisoning their captors using local plants they knew were toxic.

Many chose to take their own lives rather than be shipped across the ocean. The fortresses where

they were held had to be built like prisons for a reason. Thick walls, small windows,

armed guards everywhere. Because people were constantly trying to break free. During the forced

marches from inland to the coast, which could take weeks, captives would wait