Brooding over Bloody Revenge: Enslaved Women's Lethal Resistance

Enslaved women in the US used lethal force as the ultimate form of resistance, challenging assumptions that they only participated in covert, non-violent forms of resistance. Brooding Over Bloody Revenge reveals how these acts of lethal force were carefully pre-meditated, with women planning how and when their enslavers would die, what weapons and accomplices were necessary, and how to evade capture.

Format: Hardback
Length: 250 pages
Publication date: 13 July 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Throughout the colonial and antebellum eras in the United States, enslaved women resorted to lethal force as a powerful form of resistance. By amplifying their voices and experiences, Brooding over Bloody Revenge effectively challenges the notion that enslaved women solely engaged in covert and non-violent forms of resistance. In her insightful work, Nikki M. Taylor delves into the compelling stories of women who took matters into their own hands, killing for deeply personal instances of injustice perpetrated by their enslavers. These narratives, spanning centuries and legal contexts, illustrate that these acts of lethal force were meticulously planned. Enslaved women meticulously strategized their enslavers' deaths, considering the necessary weapons, accomplices, and strategies to evade capture. Brooding Over Bloody Revenge offers a unique and captivating perspective into the lives and philosophies of these enslaved women, who had their own ideas about justice and how to achieve it. Through their courageous actions, they challenged the dominant narratives and paved the way for greater awareness and understanding of the complexities of resistance during this historical period.

Weight: 432g
Dimension: 145 x 223 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781009276849