Download Struggles for freedom and power beyond the enemy

Struggles for freedom
and power beyond the enemy:
Afro-descendant slaves in the American
Revolution and the Bolivarian Wars for independence*
Leonardo Enrique Reales Jiménez**
Fecha de recepción: 27 de julio de 2014
Fecha de aceptación: 22 de septiembre de 2014
Fecha de modificación: 4 de noviembre de 2014
ABSTRACT
Despite the rise of ideas among most elites about the benefits
of having more control over economic resources and local
political institutions, both the British and Spanish Crowns
strongly refused to make changes in their monarchic systems
and fiscal policies. Independence from both empires was then
declared and the war for liberty in the would-be United States
of America and the so-called “Bolivarian nations”, meaning
Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, began.
Although the independence lexicon in both cases suggested
that “all” people living under colonial rules deserved freedom,
slavery was maintained and racist ideas, in fact, were enhanced. Both British and Spanish leaders took advantage of this
situation and offered slaves freedom, if they joined their military apparatus (army and navy). British slave masters and military officers, however, refused to free their own slaves during
the American Revolution (Sylvia Frey 1991).
Keywords
African-Descendant Soldiers, American Revolution and
Wars for Independence.
Las luchas por la libertad y el poder
de los esclavos afro-descendientes en
la Revolución Americana y las guerras
bolivarianas por la independencia.
As lutas pela liberdade e poder para além
do inimigo: Os escravos Africano-desceu
na Revolução Americana e as guerras
bolivarianas pela independência.
RESUMEN
RESUMO
A pesar del surgimiento de ideas entre la mayoría de las élites
acerca de los beneficios de tener un mayor control sobre los
recursos naturales y las instituciones políticas locales, tanto la
Corona Británica como La Española se rehusaron fuertemente
a implementar cambios en sus sistemas monárquicos y en sus
políticas fiscales. La independencia de ambos imperios fu declarada entonces y la guerra por la libertad en lo que serían los
Estados Unidos de América y las llamadas “naciones bolivarianas”, es decir, Venezuela, Colombia, Perú, Ecuador y Bolivia,
empezó. Aunque el vocabulario independentista en ambos casos sugirió que “todas” las personas viviendo bajo reglas coloniales merecían la libertad, se mantuvo la esclavitud y las ideas
racistas, de hecho, se fortalecieron. Los líderes británicos y los
españoles sacaron provecho de esta situación y ofrecieron a los
esclavos la libertad si se unían a su aparato militar (la armada y
la marina). Los británicos amos de esclavos y los oficiales militares, sin embargo, se rehusaron a liberar a sus propios esclavos
durante la Revolución Americana (Sylvia Frey, 1991).
Apesar do surgimento de ideias entre a maioria das elites acerca
dos benefícios de ter um maior controle sobre os recursos naturais e as instituições políticas locais, tanto a Coroa Britânica
quanto a Espanhola, recusaram-se fortemente a implementar
mudanças em seus sistemas monárquicos e em suas políticas fiscais. A independência de ambos os impérios foi declarada, então, e a guerra pela liberdade, no que seriam os Estados Unidos
da América e as chamadas “nações bolivarianas”, ou seja, Venezuela, Colômbia, Peru, Equador e Bolívia, começou. Ainda
que o vocabulário independentista em ambos os casos sugerisse
que todas as pessoas vivendo sob regras coloniais merecessem a
liberdade, manteve-se a escravidão, e as ideias racistas, de fato,
se fortaleceram. Os líderes britânicos e os espanhóis tiraram
proveito dessa situação e ofereceram a liberdade aos escravos se
os mesmos se unissem a seu aparato militar (a armada e a marinha). Os britânicos donos de escravos e os oficiais militares, no
entanto, se negaram a libertar seus próprios escravos durante a
Revolução Americana (Sylvia Frey, 1991).
Palabras clave
Soldados afro-descendientes, revolución Americana y
guerras de independencia.
Palavras-chave
Soldados afrodescendentes. Revolução Americana.
Guerras de independencia.
* Artículo producto de
uno de los seminarios de
investigación del doctorado
¿QUÉ DOCTORADO?.
** Profesor de Relaciones
Internacionales de la
Universidad Jorge Tadeo
Lozano. Coordinador BIDSomosAfro.org y Presidente
de ASOUSA. Historiador y
Politólogo de la Universidad
de los Andes, Diplomado
Internacional en Derechos
Humanos en Columbia
University, Magíster en
Economía y Relaciones
Internacionales de la
Universidad Externado de
Colombia, con estudios
de Ph.D. en Louisiana
State University y New
School University. Correo
electrónico: leonardoe.
[email protected]
INTRODUCTION
The participation of Afro-descendant slaves in the
American Revolution has been extensively studied.
The majority of scholars have focused on the contribution of these slaves to the triumph of the patriots.
Few authors have explored in depth the various roles
that slaves played among British military institutions
and units. In any case, there is no doubt that the (African) American body of literature on slave soldiers is far
more extensive than the existing studies on the presence of slave soldiers in the Spanish American independence struggles.
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pires are highlighted; and seventh, a conclusion, in
which my central argument, which states that the slaves’ struggles for freedom and power went beyond the mere
defeat of one of the sides at war, is underscored.
In the 1770s, when the anti-monarchic ideas in the
would-be United States grew stronger, the socio-economic, cultural and political structures of the colonies were
sustained by slavery. Duncan MacLeod (1974) emphasizes that the wealth and social prestige of the (white)
leaders, particularly in the South, derived extensively
from the control and exploitation of slave labor.
As an Afro-descendant historian and former army soldier, I have always found the direct participation of Afrodescendants in wars interesting. I decided to write this
paper as I realized that I could find useful elements and
references in the well-documented essays and books on
African American military issues. Even though this paper relies on secondary sources, I think it can become
a critical reference for social scientists who may be interested in comparing distinct aspects of the American
Revolution and the Bolivarian wars for independence.
It should be noted that Afro-descendant slaves also
contributed to the strength of British military institutions throughout the British Crown’s North American
colonies. Most slaveholders saw, however, the slaves
as animals rather than human beings (Bernard Nalty
1986). Attempts to defend (black) slavery were a common occurrence in the Americas before, during and
after the independence processes. MacLeod (1974)
states that slavery was normally confined to a vague
theory of climatic determinism allied to references of
biblical precedent.
This paper is divided into seven parts: first, an introduction, in which a general overview of the socio-economic and political situation of the Afro-descendant
population in the beginning of both independence
processes is outlined; second, previous research on the
topic is presented; third, an analytical framework, in
which the relevant terms that are utilized in the text
are defined; fourth, a comparison of the role that slave soldiers played among both the British and Spanish
military apparatus is given; fifth, the slaves’ struggles
among the patriot armies in both processes are underlined; sixth, similarities and differences between the
situations that slave soldiers faced when independence
was recognized by both the British and Spanish em-
This racist environment helps explain why when the
battles began Afro-descendant slaves were not enlisted
in the Continental army. According to MacLeod (1974),
political leaders were concerned with factors such as the
apparent ignorance of the so-called ‘Negroes’, their habits, the alleged impossibility of integrating them into
(American) society and, above all, the strong dependence of that society upon their labor. Slaveholders also feared that their servants would become powerful enemies.
Influenced by racist ideas, the negative attitude toward
enlisting the black slave sprang from a reluctance to deprive the slave master of his servant and from the fear of
putting guns in the hands of those who had never been
free (Benjamin Quarles 1961).
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Struggles for freedom and power beyond the enemy: Afro-descendant Slaves in
the American Revolution and the Bolivarian Wars for Independence (pp. 44 - 55)
In the Spanish American world the socio-economic
and political situation of most people of African descent was generally similar. Even when some Afrodescendants became important military leaders, they
tended to be (racially) discriminated against by their
own commanders.1
It should be underlined that in the early 1810s the
would-be “Bolivarian” countries were still divided by
statute and custom into socio-racial castes, the wellknown ‘sociedad de castas’, which comprised, broadly
speaking, Euro-mestizos, free people of African descent,
indigenous people, and black slaves (Leonardo Reales
2006). The castes were ruled by white Europeans and
Creoles. When the colonial militia was created, some
free Afro-descendants were permitted to serve, but
only in segregated units (Jay Kinsbruner 1994).
In the Americas some owners were relatively “respectful” to their slaves and manumitted them after years of
hard work. Most slaves, nevertheless, were treated as
“beings without soul” or merchandise (Reales 2001).
This explains why running away, or ‘el cimarronaje’,2
became a common strategy of resistance throughout
the British and Spanish American (slave) dominance
and beyond.3
Despite the rise of revolutionary groups and ideas in
the Americas, neither slaves nor free Afro-descendants saw significant changes in the socio-economic
structures that characterized the region. In the wouldbe United States these ideas did not include the end
of slavery, although a few philanthropists proposed
a gradual elimination of it, as well as plans to enlist
slaves who wanted to gain freedom in return for their
service. The most famous proposal regarding the presence of slaves in the Continental army was made by
John Laurens, a wealthy leader from the South, who
came to encourage a crusade against slavery that failed
(Gregory Massey, 2000).
Leonardo Enrique Reales Jiménez
In the Bolivarian nations, the socio-racial structure inherited from colonial times was not eliminated either
(Reales, 2006). The goal of the leaders of both processes was then made clear to slaves: The independence
was essentially to benefit the (white) elites who already
had political power.
PRIOR RELEVANT RESEARCH ON SLAVE
SOLDIERS IN THE AMERICAS
The slave presence in the American Revolutionary
War has been explored extensively by sociologists,
historians and political scientists. The vast majority
of academic works refer to the decisive contribution
of Afro-descendant slaves to the cause of American
freedom. Authors have focused on different cultural,
economic, social, political, legal and military aspects
that affected the slaves who fought for the Continental
army and state militias.
Two texts remain as critical references for the study
of slave soldiers who supported the patriot side. The
first one is a well-documented book, “The Negro in
the American Revolution.” This text, written by Benjamin Quarles (1961), is perhaps the most cited work
on slave soldiers to date. The second one is another
widely-cited book; “Blacks in the American Revolution,”
in which its author, Philip Foner (1975), analyzes key
documents that help clarify the meaning of the Revolution in African American history.
1 Due to racism-related issues,
(Afro-descendant) General
Manuel Piar (in Venezuela)
and Admiral José Padilla
(in Colombia) were, in fact,
executed by their troops.
According to Leonardo Reales
(2001), both Piar and Padilla
were victims of the dominant
racism that characterized the
Bolivarian nations in the first
half of the Nineteenth century.
2 It is important to recall that the
Spaniards called ‘cimarrones’
(maroons) the animals (bulls,
horses, cows, etc) that
escaped from their stables. For
information on ‘cimarrones’ in
the Spanish American world,
see Reales (2001).
3 Reales (2006) states that
‘running away’ was a common
occurrence in the Spanish
American slave society.
It should be added that Paul Finkelman (1989) compiled several academic works, which have influenced
the understanding of slavery and the American Revolution, for example, his text, “Slavery, Revolutionary
America, and the New Nation.” As Finkelman himself
notes, “this series includes pioneering articles on the
history of slavery in America, relevant breakthroughs
in research and methodology and articles that offer
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major historiographical interpretations.” (p. 5). Finkelman acknowledges, of course, that this series does not
include all the excellent articles that have been written on the topic since the 1960s.
4 The British were well-known
for the red coats that
characterized their military
uniforms.
The main argument of this paper is that the Afro-descendant slaves’ willingness to fight with either side at war
went beyond “the flag” that they decided to defend or
attack. This is why I also rely on secondary sources that
study in detail the participation of Afro-descendant slaves in the British Crown’s military apparatus. I pay special attention to three texts on Afro-descendant slaves
who wore ‘red coats’4 in the battlefield. One is “Water
from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age”.
This book, written by Sylvia Frey in 1991, underscores
the crucial roles that Afro-descendant slaves played
among the British Crown’s military. Based on her research in British records, Frey (1991) suggests that slave
resistance during the Revolutionary War was far more
extensive than what most authors have recognized and
that aspects of this resistance have remained unexplored.
Another important text on slaves who wore ‘red coats’
in the battlefield is “The Black Loyalist Directory.” This
well-documented text, written by Graham Hodges in
1996, shows how the British military attracted tens of
thousand of slaves seeking freedom. This study is worthy of careful consideration, as the “Black Loyalists”
are of paramount importance to the understanding not
only of the slaves’ strategies to seek freedom but also of
African American history.
The third text that I find useful for the study of the
slaves who defended “the British flag” in the Revolutionary War is “The Fate of Some Black Loyalists of
the American Revolution.” In this article, Mary Norton
(1973) gives detailed descriptions of the fate of some
slaves who had escaped from their masters and joined
British military units during the war. Descriptions of
this kind are outlined in other books that are cited be-
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low. However, when explaining the situation of slaves
who wore ‘red coats’, this paper mainly refers to the
three sources mentioned above.
The contribution of Afro-descendant slaves to the independence of the Spanish colonies remains largely
unexplored. According to Reales (2006), only two
scholars, whose texts include key primary sources and
legal documents, analyze in detail the disadvantageous
situation of the slave soldiers, although they do not
study the Afro-descendants who served in Spanish military units. One of these scholars is Nuria Sales, who
(in 1970) wrote the seminal work on this topic, named
“Esclavos y Reclutas en Sudamérica (1816-1826)”. The
other scholar is Peter Blanchard, who (in 2002) published an essay named “The Language of Liberation: Slave
Voices in the Wars of Independence.” Blanchard notes
how the slaves’ struggles provided them an unprecedented opportunity to voice their feelings and thoughts
while helping secure both national independence and
their personal freedom (Reales 2006).
The essay that I wrote in 2006, “The Contribution of the
Afro-Descendant Soldiers to the Independence of the Bolivarian Countries (1810-1826)”, also focuses on the importance of slave soldiers for the triumph of the patriot
army, particularly in Colombia and Venezuela. Even
though the three essays mentioned above acknowledge that slaves joined Spanish military units seeking
freedom, they disregard the relevance for the Crown
of those slaves, whose struggles went certainly beyond
defeating the (patriot) enemy, as will be argued below.
My initial objective with this paper was to offer a comparison between the contributions of slave soldiers to
the independence processes in discussion, but then I
realized that it was far more interesting to explore in
depth the goal(s) behind the struggles of slaves, rather
than their actual contribution to the success of both
independence processes. This is why I also pay special
Struggles for freedom and power beyond the enemy: Afro-descendant Slaves in
the American Revolution and the Bolivarian Wars for Independence (pp. 44 - 55)
attention to the academic works of Indalecio Líévano
(1974), “Los Grandes Conflictos Sociales y Económicos
de Nuestra Historia; Jorge Domínguez (1980), “Insurrection or Loyalty. The Breakdown of the Spanish American
Empire”; John Lynch (1986), “The Spanish American
Revolutions 1808-1826”; Jaime Rodríguez (1998), “The
Independence of Spanish America”; and Leonardo Reales
(2001), “Prensa, Abolición y Racismo hacia los Afrocolombianos, 1810-1851,” which offer useful insights on
slaves among the Spanish military. None of these texts,
nevertheless, specifically focuses on Afro-descendant
soldiers. Based on my research, I suggest there are still
no consistent academic works on the slaves who joined
the Spanish army during the independence process.
FROM “NEGROES” TO AFRO-DESCENDANTS: AN
ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
In both the United States and the so-called Bolivarian nations, racist ideas came from the colonial époque and have persisted throughout history, in spite of
the abolition of slavery and the creation of equity laws.
The term “Negroes” and other discriminatory words,
which were created by slave society, were frequently
used by politicians and ordinary citizens in the United States until the 1960s. The rise of the Civil Rights
Movement, and (racial) identity ideas that came from
leaders like Malcom X, generated changes in that
offensive language.
These changes can be seen in the works of those who
have written on African American issues. In the early
1960s, when the term “Negroes” was still widely utilized in the United States, Quarles (1961) used it in
his book, “The Negro in the American Revolution”. In
the 1970s, Foner (1975) used the term “Blacks”, when
referring to the same population, in his text “Blacks in
the American Revolution.”5 Today (African) American scholars who respect the identity struggles of the
Leonardo Enrique Reales Jiménez
peoples of African descent use the term African Americans to describe this population.
Throughout the would-be Latin America, the Spaniards (and their descendants) called the people of
African descent ‘negros’, ‘pardos’, ‘morochos’, ‘mulatos’, ‘zambos’, ‘morenos’, etc.6 These offensive expressions persisted in the Bolivarian world after the war for
independence was won, and even after the abolition of
slavery in the 1850s (Reales 2006). In fact, a few decades after those events, the elites approved laws that
promoted the immigration of white Europeans to help
improve what they called ‘raza latina’ (Latino race) and
achieve progress (Reales 2005).
In this paper I constantly use the term Afro-descendants.
This “recent” term has been enhanced by Afro-descendant non-governmental organizations and activists
in the Americas and elsewhere.7 The term is widely
supported by regional and international human rights
instruments. As Juan Mosquera (2000) points out, the
concept ‘Afro-descendants’ essentially refers to persons
who had/have African background and whose ancestors lived in slavery. It should be noted that concepts
like Afro-descendants, people of African descent, African Americans, are political terms created to strengthen the identity of peoples of African ancestry (Reales 2006). Although these terms did not exist in the
Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries in the Americas,
they are used in this paper as they reflect the success of
Afro-descendant advocates and academics in pushing
the recognition of their ancestors’ historical struggles.
5 Italics are mine.
6 Rolando Mellafe (1984) and
Leonardo Reales (2001) list
other concepts utilized by the
Europeans to discriminate
against black people and their
descendants during slavery.
7 The term was adopted in the
World Conference against
Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance, held in Durban,
South Africa in 2001. For more
information on this topic, see
Reales (2005).
THE STRUGGLES OF THE SLAVES WHO SERVED
IN THE BRITISH AND SPANISH MILITARY
The use of slave labor in a military capacity was a common occurrence among European powers since the
Seventeenth century (Frey 1991). This explains why
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many slaves were already serving in the British Crown
military when the Revolutionary War began. The starting point of the war has been attributed to the courage
of a few people who confronted and challenged a group
of British soldiers on Boston on March 5, 1770 (Joseph
Wilson 1968). Those soldiers fired upon the crowd, killing the leader, a former slave called Crispus Attucks,
first, and then four other (white) men. Attucks became
a martyr to both the Boston Massacre, as it was called,
and the cause of the Revolution (Nalty 1986). Some
historians have underlined how ironic it was that the
first hero of the American war for independence was an
African American and former slave.8
8 Both Nalty (1986) and Wilson
(1968) analyze in detail the
Boston Massacre and Attucks’
biography.
9 According to Hodges (1996),
estimates of 25,000 to 55,000
fugitives (only in the southern
states) represent the largest
escape in the history of
American slavery.
10 Washington’s decision and
the struggles of slaves among
the patriot forces are analyzed
in more detail below.
11 Both Hodges (1996) and
Norton (1973) explain that
former slaves who served
the British also applied
for pensions and property
compensations.
The revolutionary movement grew stronger after the
Boston Massacre. One of the main responses of the British authorities to this movement was the creation of
military units in which Afro-descendant slaves could
find a way to freedom. Hodges (1996) underscores
that the Black Loyalists’ hegira began on November 7,
1775, when, after months of speculation and threats,
Lord Dunmore proclaimed freedom to “all negroes willing to serve His Majesty’s forces.” In a few months,
many Afro-descendant fugitives in Virginia, Maryland,
and the Carolinas accepted Dunmore’s call to join his
Ethiopian Regiment (Hodges 1996).
For these soldiers, the Revolutionary War was as much
a war for liberation as it was for the American colonists rebelling against the Crown. The British military,
nevertheless, was not that magnanimous. The British
also used slaves to perform menial labor such as building roads and serving officers (Frey 1991). In any case,
throughout the independence process, the British military brought tens of thousands of slaves to their lines.9
They organized Afro-descendant regiments as well as
free-lance guerrilla units, known as “followers of the
flag.” (Hodges 1996). These regiments and units repre-
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sented a serious threat to the American cause. This was
the main reason why George Washington accepted enlisting slaves in the Continental army.10
It is important to emphasize that the Afro-descendant
soldiers who served in the British military became the
first group of emancipated African Americans. As
Hodges (1996) highlights, many slaves sought to move
African Americans back to the land of their ancestors.
This search for a free land can be seen as one of the
Afro-descendants’ calls for reparations to repay for harsh years of servitude.11 Frey (1991) also points out that
Afro-descendant slaves perceived that their best chances for freedom and changes in the social order would
come with a British victory, even though the British
never talked about total emancipation. In any case,
the massive participation of slaves in the British army
(and the patriot side) as well as their socio-economic
demands indicate that their struggles for freedom and
power went far beyond the flag they defended.
The Spanish military leaders also offered Afro-descendant slaves freedom, if fighting the patriots. Many slaves, particularly in Venezuela and Colombia, rose up
against their white lords. Social banditry and defensive
collective violence were politically and militarily mobilized by the royalist officer José Tomás Boves (Domínguez, 1980).
Boves emerged as the most powerful royalist leader who
challenged the patriots. He had lived in many places in
the country and had developed the skills of the ‘llaneros’ (cowboys), most of whom were former slaves and
free Afro-descendants (Reales, 2001). Boves promised
to distribute the land of white aristocrats to his men.
But most of all, he gave them an opportunity to vent
their anger against their former oppressors (Rodríguez
1998). Boves’ army gave no quarter. Thus the patriots’
Struggles for freedom and power beyond the enemy: Afro-descendant Slaves in
the American Revolution and the Bolivarian Wars for Independence (pp. 44 - 55)
terror met with an equally violent reaction (Reales
2006). Kinsbruner (1994) points out that the ‘llaneros’
were widely known as the “Legion of Hell,” and with
justification they carried as their standard a black flag
emblazoned with a death’s skull.
Boves was the first one to eliminate the castes and promote Afro-descendant soldiers to the highest military
ranks (Liévano, 1974). He had as many as twelve thousand troops but no more than a hundred and sixty were
Spaniards. Boves is well-known for vanquishing the
patriots several times (Reales, 2006). Although he was
killed in action in 1814, his army entered Caracas and
proclaimed the full restoration12 of the Spanish Empire
(Kinsbruner, 1994).
Boves’ effective campaigns made Simón Bolívar, the
would-be liberator of five nations, understand that the
war would be won only if slaves defended the independence cause. This is why Bolívar, as commander in chief
of the patriot army, also offered freedom to all slaves who
joined his forces. Ironically, one of the first groups that
fought for him was the ‘llaneros,’ whom the Crown started to oppress by the end of 1815 (Reales, 2006).
As suggested above, the struggles of the Afro-descendant slaves for freedom and power went beyond the
flag that they defended. In the Spanish military forces, slaves not only sought to challenge their former
masters and obtain properties but also to gain social
prestige and power through the access to high military
ranks. As occurred with the American case, the participation of slave soldiers in the Crown’s forces as well
as in the patriot army indicates that their struggles to
gain freedom and power went far beyond the side in
conflict they defended. More evidence to support this
argument is presented below.
Leonardo Enrique Reales Jiménez
THE STRUGGLES OF THE SLAVES WHO FOUGHT
FOR THE PATRIOTS
It has been estimated that during the (American) Revolutionary War at least 5,000 Afro-descendant slaves
served on the patriot side (Sidney Kaplan 1973). As
Quarles (1961) and Foner (1975) underscore, Afrodescendant soldiers fought in every major battle of the
war, mostly in integrated units. A notable exception
was the Americas’ first all-black unit, the 1st Rhode
Island Regiment (Wilson 1968). This brave Regiment
defeated three assaults by the British during the Battle
for Rhode Island in 1778 and later participated in the
victory at Yorktown in 178113.
As mentioned above, the use of Afro-descendant slaves
was avoided by General George Washington early in the
war (Quarles 1961). Only when Washington and other
leaders realized that slave soldiers were crucial for the
success of the independence process, were enlistments
of Afro-descendant slaves allowed (Foner, 1975). Thus
slaves were used in a variety of ways among the patriot
military apparatus. According to Kaplan (1973), the
Afro-descendant slave served as infantry and artillery
soldier, sailor, scout, guide, spy, guard, courier, cook,
waiter and military laborer of all sorts.
12 The elites in both Venezuela
and Colombia had declared
independence from Spain
in 1810.
13 For more information on the
successes of this Regiment,
see W.B. Hartgrove (1916) and
William Nell (1968).
As many authors note, the outstanding military skills of
slave soldiers who fought for the patriots had a decisive
impact on the final outcome of the war. This conflict,
nonetheless, also set the pattern, followed for almost
two centuries, by which the American government
utilized Afro-descendants in time of crisis and ignored
them afterward (Nalty, 1986). In any case, the American Revolution facilitated the rise of anti-slavery movements throughout the country in which former slaves participated (MacLeod 1974). Most importantly,
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Afro-descendants took advantage of this military service in wartime, as it represented a path toward freedom
and apparent greater postwar opportunity; no matter
what side in conflict they joined (Nalty, 1986).
As argued throughout the paper, in the would-be Bolivarian world the struggles of slaves also went beyond
the defeat of the enemy. Perhaps the only salient difference between the ways the elites led the independence processes in discussion, is that in the Spanish
Crown’s former colonies, Simón Bolívar offered military ranks to free people of African descent who joined
the republican cause, just as the Spanish military had
done (Reales, 2001). As regards to these slaves, Bolívar
also offered them freedom in return for military service. Afro-descendants (both free and slaves) were needed to fill the gaps in the patriot ranks left by (Creole)
casualties and desertions, and they themselves were
imbued with greater expectations from wartime socioeconomic and political mobility (John Lynch, 2006).
As had occurred with the American Revolution, the
Creole elites in the Bolivarian world were afraid to release former slaves into society. Bolívar himself believed that ‘la pardocracia’ (Afro-mestizos’ rule) would govern, sooner or later, the liberated countries, if he did
not limit the aspirations of Afro-descendants (Reales,
2001). He thought that it would no longer be a question of resisting slave expectations but of controlling
and directing them (Lynch, 2006). This attitude, heavily influenced by racist ideas, became the main obstacle for the former slaves’ struggles. In any case, the
fact that many slaves, like those who belonged to the
“llaneros”, fought for both sides - at different times of
the conflict - indicates that Afro-descendants saw the
independence process far beyond what it meant to be
a patriot or royalist. They wanted freedom and power,
but they also wanted respect and social prestige.
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Before comparing the situation of former slaves after
the wars for independence, it should be noted that
slave women also contributed in different ways to the
armies in conflict. Blanchard (2002) underlines that
the independence struggles gave both women and men
of African descent an unparalleled opportunity to voice their thoughts. In both cases, however, the winners
neither allowed their effective inclusion into society
nor eliminated slavery at the national level.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FORMER SLAVES’
STRUGGLES?
As argued above, the triumph of the Revolution did not
produce significant changes in the existing society. As
a matter of fact, when the war came to an end, some
Afro-descendants were re-enslaved by their “former”
slave owners (Frey, 1991). Many of those who served
in the British military, nevertheless, migrated to Nova
Scotia, England and, later, West Africa (Quarles 1961).
Although they gained immediate civil freedom, in contrast to the gradual emancipation practiced in the (Northern) United States, the (Black) Loyalists suffered
economic and political deprivation for years (Hodges,
1996). James Walker (1989) suggests that these soldiers
were not just runaway slaves. Walker argues that they
were advocates of Afro-descendant liberation.
Whether they remained in Nova Scotia, England, or
migrated further to Sierra Leone, those former slaves
created their own communities and church, and demonstrated that black republicanism, hardened in the
crucible of the American Revolution, could create an
independent nation (Hodges, 1996). The case of the
Afro-descendant Loyalists also indicates that the struggles of slaves were not only about freedom or power.
This case was unique in the Americas. Neither the
Struggles for freedom and power beyond the enemy: Afro-descendant Slaves in
the American Revolution and the Bolivarian Wars for Independence (pp. 44 - 55)
Spanish nor the Bolivarian patriots allowed former
slaves to do so. As happened with the former slaves
who stayed in the United States, Afro-descendants in
the Bolivarian nations continued their struggles for
the elimination of slavery for several decades and faced
racism-related practices at the end of those abolition
processes and beyond.14
CONCLUSION
There is no doubt that the American Revolution and
the Bolivarian independence process gave many Afrodescendant slaves an unparalleled opportunity to fight
for their freedom, gain power and even overcome exclusionary practices against them. This opportunity
was not limited to the patriot side. Both British and
Spanish military leaders attracted thousands of slaves
to their lines, offering them freedom in return for their
military service.
During the Bolivarian wars for independence some
Afro-descendants came to hold the highest military
ranks. This did not occur in the American Revolution.
As a consequence of the outcome of this Revolution,
however, many Afro-descendant Loyalists migrated
to Sierra Leone, where they demonstrated that Afrodescendant former slaves could create an independent
nation. As Hodges (1996) notes, their example eventually inspired the creation of Liberia. In short, the
participation of thousands of slave soldiers in both the
British and Spanish military apparatus and the patriot
armies, as well as the slaves’ demands, clearly indicate
that the Afro-descendants’ struggles for freedom and
power went far beyond the side in conflict that they
defended.
14 For a discussion on racism
in the Americas in the
Nineteenth century, see
Reales (2001) and MacLeod
(1974).
Leonardo Enrique Reales Jiménez
2015
7
53
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