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Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
Colonial America (1492-1765)

Rebellions

Rebellions
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 5
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.48

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    bloody, burning, militia, successful, historian, illegal, cases, british, running, runaway, remedy, armed, wherever, slave, remain, leading
     content words:    Civil War, Revolutionary War, Gloucester County, York City, South Carolina, Spanish Florida, Stono Rebellion

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Rebellions
By Jane Runyon 		  
1     Africans were kidnapped from their homes. They were chained together and marched to the coast. When they reached the coast, they were put on ships. They had no time to say good-bye to their families. They had no time to gather together their belongings. They were packed below decks of ships with very little room to move. They were given little food on their long journey. Many died before reaching their new homes.
 
2     These Africans were very unhappy to have been treated this way. Life in this new land was not easy. They were treated badly. They were beaten. They were made to work in fields. If they were lucky, they might be given a job in the main house. The work there was also hard.
 
3     Sometimes a slave might start his or her own family with another slave. There was no guarantee that a slave would be able to remain with his or her family. The owner might decide to sell the slave or the family to another owner.
 
4     The slaves were very unhappy with the life they had to live. The owners were very aware of the unhappiness. But what could slaves do to remedy the situation? They had no weapons. They couldn't speak the English language in many cases. They couldn't read. What chance did they have against the owners and their overseers?

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