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

people who were antagonistic to the white settlers of San Miguel . The Africans,
along with their indigenous allies, would return to San Miguel to harass the white
settlers . By December of 1526, nearly six months after establishing the colony,
the remaining 150 of the settlers would abandon the North American continent for
Hispaniola .' The Africans of San Miguel not only established the first maroon
community in North America, but served as a forerunner to other African rebels
who would align themselves with indigenous nations to resist slavery and geno-
cide . Certainly these Africans shared and learned from the warrior traditions of
the Native nations .
European settlers in the Western hemisphere feared the possibility of
solidarity between the indigenous nations and the enslaved Africans . Some settler
colonial governments actually designed legislation and developed policy to
prevent Red/Black solidarity . In 1502, the governor of Hispaniola, Nicholas de
Ovando, sent King Ferdinand of Spain a request that no more Africans be sent to
his colony . Ovando's request stated the Africans " . . .fled amongst the Indians and
taught them bad customs, and never could be captured ." The colonial rulers of
South Carolina passed legislation in 1725 which fined settlers for bringing en-
slaved Africans to the frontier to avert Red/Black contact. In 1751, another South
Carolina colonial law stated "the carrying of Negroes among the Indians has all
along been thought detrimental, as an intimacy ought to be avoided." In its
colonies in North America, the English encouraged Native states to adopt the
practice of enslaving Africans to hoping indigenous people would have a vested
interest in the system of slavery. English settlers would also demand return of
fugitive slaves in negotiations with indigenous rulers.'