Eye for an Eye: The Role of Armed Resistance ... - Freedom Archives

communities since that may have gone undetected by the white settlers during the
period of African enslavement . These communities, which often expropriated the
weapons of the white settlers, became the pioneers of the Black armed resistance
tradition in North America. They generally came to the attention of white settlers j
due to their raids upon plantations to liberate other Africans, or to obtain food or
supplies. In some cases maroon communities encouraged and planned armed
insurrections with the objective of freeing their enslaved brothers and sisters and
striking a serious blow against the plantation system of the white settlers . Maroon
communities also served as safe haven for other runaways . Due to their rebel
status and guerilla tactics for survival, maroons had to utilize military means to
maintain their existence.
The first African captives brought to what is today the United States
became maroons within six months of being on the North American continent. In
the summer of 1526 Spanish settlers from the colony of Hispaniola established a
settlement in present-day South Carolina. These settlers brought African captives
as forced laborers with them to their colony called San Miguel de Gualdape . The
colony was located in the eastern portion of current-day South Carolina, near the
Pee Dee River. The settlement of San Miguel de Gualdape consisted of 500 white
settlers and 100 Africans . By the fall of 1526, the colony experienced the death of
their leader, Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, along with the illness and death of several
other white settlers . Presented with this crisis, the settlers of San Miguel engaged
in a power struggle between various factions . In November of 1526, the enslaved
Africans used this confusion, setting fires at the settlement and escaping to the
frontier. After their exodus the Africans formed an alliance with indigenous
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