Between approximately 1663 and 1860, there were between 250 and 311 recognized slave revolts in Colonial America and the United States, per scholar Herbert Aptheker. However, the actual number is likely higher, as many rebellions were unreported due to suppression by slaveholding communities. The first major revolt occurred in Santo Domingo in 1521, with the Haitian Revolution being the most significant. The pattern of calling uprisings 'the work of brigands' or obscuring accounts continued to allow slave owners to justify their practices, often leading to stricter laws in response to each revolt.
Accounts of insurrections are not easily uncovered because the white planter class kept this news hidden and expressed their fear of rebellions only when rushing through more restrictive and retributive laws to control their slaves.
When the next revolt occurred, the authorities would respond in the same way and, in some cases, simply redefine the uprising as 'the work of brigands...'.
The best-known slave revolts are those where the authorities were unable to control the narrative because of where they took place, how quickly word of an insurrection spread...
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