Fighting for Freedom: The Weapons and Strategies of the 1811 Slave Revolt (feat. InRangeTV) 

I was not expecting this crossover but welcome it none the less. Idea for future video: I would like to hear your take of the mini series of The Good Lord Bird as a film enthusiast and dabbler of history

more importantly, where do i get Karl's shirt?

Its interesting to think what the war of 1812 would have been like with a free slave state in the south of the USA. Would the war even happen? Would Britain land an expeditionary force in that state to threaten the south US?

@@thehandoftheking3314 I don't think so and I don't think any foreign European recognition would have had any effect on the fate of a black state. France and Britain at the time were engaged in the Napoleonic Wars. In selling Louisiana to the US, Napoleon had in effect ended French presence in North America, at least not on a large scale. The British were busy fighting against Napoleon, financing coalition after coalition on the continent trying to stop Napoleon. While both France and Britain or even Spain (with its own Peninsular War) could be sympathetic to this new state... They all had big issues at home to deal with. I think the rebellion was doomed from the start, with or without European sympathy. The War of 1812 started out of a... coincidence more than anything, neither of the sides desired it or planned for it. So, I think it would still have happened with the same outcome, maybe with a few different details.

I wonder if the local African-American families in that area have some relics or oral histories? I think they stole guns from that house and killed some of the militia. Might want to check the archives and old newspapers of that time.

I know I was like wtf does that have to do with anything

Hey man

What the dog doin’?

Oh my! THREE of my favorite RU-vidrs crossing over!

Shirley checks the perimeter for rabbits and snacks, pro-bono!

Atun-Shei's name is Andrew?!

@@MollymaukT Yup.

@@machinist7230 what about his last name, social security number, credit card number and the 3 numbers on the back.

@@danni3908 and his mother's maiden name.

Some might argue that it diminishes the great value of the video. That it is juvenile. Some might say that.

This was an eye opener for me. I (from UK) only learned about the Haitian revolution from Mike Duncan. How well known is that in America.

The erect nature of his prose really makes my mind fertile and vivid.

He made a video on this I think 2 years ago. It was narrated in a pretty dramatic fashion but that Louisiana Slave Revolt was a through and through banger. It is probably one of the most "History of the People" moment.

Atun-Shei, InRangeTV, and yourself Stefan have made access to history and events for an unbiased, more realistic view of how things came to be.

Same, just went back and watched the other video on it. Been to the spot where all those people were murdered so many times and never knew it's bloody history.

5 shots in a minute! That's impressive!

@@AtunSheiFilms Trust me it's difficult and painful. 0/10 would not recommend

@@TheMuckrakers1900 I've only just managed 4 once. But that was like 59.999999999999 seconds....

@@thehandoftheking3314 the secret is to hold the ram rod in the same hand holding the musket. Don't put the ram rod back you're just wasting time 😉

is tap loading a practical technique? something about banging a primed even half-cocked lock just feels counter-intuitive

You two are my favorite RU-vidrs, the Collab video was awesome, hopefully more to come!

What do you mean 'left behind'? You mean he moved out and just left a 1790's musket in the attic? Even if he was 85 with Alzheimers you'd think you would remember that.

@@Baseballnfj not if it's in the attic you wouldn't

My buddy found an old double barrel over and under .22 derringer hidden in the walls of a garage he helped demolish. Wonder how many notches that little murder piece picked up. It's meant to be put directly against someone's head and fired, and it's clearly a working class, no frills piece of equipment.

@@Baseballnfj Perhaps those who left felt the gun etc belonged in the house! I found old things in a house we had. Left sleigh bells and Degaro type ( misspelling) I left them in the wall along with a flier for " Harry Browne's Far Hempfest 1998! 😂😁 for the next person to find!

He must be a very good boy.

what the dog doin

This comment brings me joy. Shirley is looking good for 150! But for real, she's 13 and the best dog. :-)

brother

They better have pet that dog, seriously look at the love in it's eyes.

High praise, thank you.

That video was the first one that lead me to Atun-Shei and I absolutely loved it. And have watched everything else which has either maintained or surpassed in quality

It was very brave but if I was put in that situation I would be with the other 3% that didn’t join the rebellion

@@larrylindgren215 I wonder if that 3% got rewarded or punished.

@@bickyboo7789 Better than being dead Just need to wait a couple more years and I’m free

@@ElectronFieldPulse it can't be justified but it can be explained and understood.

@@ElectronFieldPulse You’d be surprised how many conflicts (even on sides you agree with) have soldiers kill children. It’s pretty common. Just that the winning side gets to have it not really mentioned.

A worthy sacrifice, indeed.

The History Channel died because Capitalism can't exploit a learned underclass

@@DopaminedotSeek3rcolonthree lol, we got more than what we paid for, type scenerio.

The Hitler Channel*

@@willywonka7812 Lmao, okay buddy.

There is a difference between declaring your kingdom in the middle of the jungle and conquering the trade center of the south and declaring your kingdom there. One of those is much harder to miss.

There were "maroon" colonies in the swamps in Louisiana much like the cimarroon societies in South America

Seneca Village was a large settlement of former slaves in New York City, where central park is now. The bastard mayor Fernando Wood razed it all to make way for central park

That's one of the reasons we wanted Florida. Slaves from Georgia and thereabouts found refuge in Spanish territory.

Haiti is the prime example of this. Sadly Haiti has a terrible history (for various reasons) and is also Earthquake Central.

By who?

@@hexa3389 I think that's Rising of the Moon, it's an ancient (Although somewhat modern by Irish standards, 1860s) Irish rising song. I don't quite recall those lyrics, It may be from the original poem or something else entirely.

@@themanhimself1229 A song about a failed rebellion, written to encourage people to join in another rebellion, which also failed. Irish history up to the 20th century, everyone!

@@goodlookingcorpse As I recall, 98 is a rising not a rebelion. But aye, that's how it's gone for a long time now. But at least She's free now. 26/32, anyways.

@@goodlookingcorpse I understand if you Google "Irish national anthem," the third hit is "Come out ye Black and Tans."

According to the warrior-poet O’Shea Jackson, if I can cover the time it takes the earth to make one complete rotation without using a Russian designed assault rifle in my possession, then today was a good day.

@@pauly260 well i guess every day i had was a good day because i used the serbian design

Drapetomania: the "disorder" of an enslaved person trying to get the h€ll away from the person who was exploiting them.

@@ElectronFieldPulse Completely Agree

@jacobprice2579 Why didn't who rebel?

But also consider that the paltry Continentals of 1776 had largely not even seen service for a full year, and that they didn't have the gunpowder or ammunition to really train. By 1811, the situation had undoubtedly improved.

Well he said "well regulated" 10:25 which as any modern constitutionalist would interpret to mean that everyone had access to the automatic belt fed version of the weapon at the time.

@@gluesniffingdude The quote is describing British regulars (likely the two battalions of the 42nd Regiment).

@Ewan Wardle I’d love to know the source of that quote. Would really like to read more primary sources about the New York campaign.

@@davidgiacomini9250 No problem. It's taken from "Memoirs of the Life of John Adlum in the Revolutionary War," edited by H. H. Peckham (Chicago: Caxton Club, 1968). This quote can be found on pp. 68-69.

Except I imagine that they get along much better off camera.

@@Darkstar1484 much MUCH better lol

Not necessarily. One of the things not covered here is that a rather significant number of the slaves who revolted, especially the drivers of revolutionary ideals - two men known as Kook and Kwamana - had, in their former lives, been warriors quite proficient and experienced in fighting not only each other but also colonial forces. While they may not have been traditionally trained in the European sense, they were experienced guerilla fighters and more than you might think could have had direct experience with contemporary firearms. One of the consequences of this revolt, in fact, was a shift away from importation of slaves directly from Africa and toward breeding local stock specifically to avoid ending up with experienced and angry warriors in the fields. Information taken from "American Uprising: the Untold Story of America's Largest Slave Revolt" Daniel Rasmussen (I can't find a print or copyright date in the book)

@@nathanrandall7003 great info. I have to say my statement still stands. It takes a significant amount of time for that sort of knowledge to spread amongst a group. Something the rebels had in very short supply.

I'd say possibly and maybe even likely that some of the rebels had experience with fire arms. It wasn't unusual fr plantation owners to use one or two men as hunters while carefully regulating access to weapons and ammunition. Guns were an important trade item for Europeans in West Africa where they played a part in the warfare to get the captives that fed the slave trade. Some of the rebels might have had prior experience using muskets. Empire of Guns: the violent making of the industrial Revolution by Priya Satia, touches on the trade though her focus is mainly on the gun makers.

I dont think so. Many of the slaves revolting were either recently brought tribal warriors who knew the basics of firearm operatior or were slaves for sugar cane wich doesnt meant they had knowledge of firearma but that they were extremely skilled at using bladed weapons

@@nathanrandall7003 The deliberate (and effective) suppression of the Atlantic slave trade by the Royal Navy and other powers probably had a greater impact on shifting away from importing slaves from Africa.

JOHN BROWN'S BODY LIES MOLDERING IN THE GRAVE!

@@rfkwouldvebeenaok1008 What happens when you sing it in the South?

@@kayvan671 Neo confederates start to spontaneously combust from Sherman's spirit rising from the grave.

He's been mention in Checkmate Lincolnite a few times I think

@@mr.c1913 a whole video would be cool though

Good choice

the idea that enslaved people in the south were docile and willing participants, or at least too lazy to rise up, is a big part of American mythology and events like this are pretty much intentionally suppressed

The American Historical Association (which is the closest thing America has to something guiding university history curricula) deliberately de-emphasizes teaching specific historical events in favor of teaching the skills of a historian. There are definitely benefits to this approach, generally I would argue in favor of it, but there are downsides as well. If you're wondering, American k-12 take the opposite approach to history, deliberately de-emphasizing all skills and lessons on the subject of history in favor of essentially just having students memorize a list of facts with little real context or reason for why students need to know them.

@@Kobolds_in_a_trenchcoat The American Education System seems to like to operate in polarizing ends instead of a nice nuanced middle, I noticed

Klaus agrees.

Have you looked in his closet? A surprise for party guests.

He looks incredible in his uniforms, like a true historically accurate heroic soldier.

As an American who went to high school just next door in Texas, I hadn’t even heard of it.

@@corwin32 same, but tbh i got a very lost cause style education on slavery until i moved up north

@@corwin32 same, I was in Texas too but my history education was a bit odd, most of my history was taught by coaches who didn't really care about history and the good teachers were generally on world history.

@@AtunSheiFilms You're really one of a kind. The unique mix between cinema and history is fantastic - and each of the two is really good on its own!

"Technical issues with the farm machinery, covered under warranty"

They also bailed out the Slave owning class after the civil war. Guess who they didn't bail out.

@@rring44 What's worse is, many slaves actually were given land after the Civil War, only to have it systemically stolen by southern banks.

Cronyism is the Government's and the Elite's favorite thing.

@@MravacKid hood

Was this before or after Minie balls?

@@mathieushifera135 definitely before as the projectile after the model of Monsieur Minié was a ball for RIFLED muskets. Meaning that when it was in use during the Civil war the armies mostly had transitioned away from the Smoothbore as Carl showed in Arizona to fully rifled guns. Which also meant higher aiming accuracy (and muzzle velocity) Also most of those were already percussion cap guns, so you saved half the loading steps as you did no longer have to prime your pan with additional powder, but simply put the small cap on the nipple where it would ignite the powder load. If you could not get your hands ON a rifled/Minie musket though...

It’s history that deserves to be remembered - THG

Billy Yank and Johnny Reb competing in a match would be excellent!

Desert Brutality: Civil War

Robert Nett: 3 shots a minute !? The South Essex can manage two on a good day !

Now that’s soldiering

@@509Gman Now that's meme-ing

And there's also the aspect of people deliberately trying to suppress stories like this to keep that stereotype in place.

“We shall be free or die trying”

@@ethanmcfarland8240 While I agree that the idea of submissive slaves needs to be corrected, keep in mind however, as pointed out in the video, 75% of the enslaved did not join in the rebellion. A case of life over death, fear is a great motivator.

I went to school for history in Charleston SC and I was not taught about the Stono Rebellion of 1739 (the site of which was mere miles from my school) which was the largest slave rebellion ever in the south. However, we WERE lectured on the Denmark Vesey "affair", in which a free black man was accused of being the ring leader of a slave rebellion that never happened. This was 1822. Convicted by secret courts, they also hung close to 30 others and arrested nearly 100. I'm glad in the very least that my attention was brought to this terror because it really exposed a still open rift dating back to this event in Charleston society. They recently erected a statue to Vesey, but it took 30 years of struggle to accomplish... and the statue was only approved if it was a good distance from the tourist area. It's an interesting quality of the deep south that you can see these events from 200 years ago still very much alive.

It was a stereotype but also a generational fear among thinkers like WEB Du Bois

If you don't compress black powder and leave a air gap, you have a handheld pipebomb

God Hates A Coward, if u want to listen to Tomahawk while getting in the mood to learn about Tomahawks

It’s a shame the revolt failed, they got so far.

Deeper than that Mark. The population of New Orleans doubled from 1809-1810. Almost all Haitian slavers and their enslaved

The population in New Orleans doubled from 1810-1811 as a result.

"I'm Spartacus" "I'm Spartacus" "I'm Spartacus" "See Jedediah? They all DO look alike" -1812, probably

As they said in Starship Troopers, “I’m doing my part!”

You're free to do with your face as you like...

You can always grow them: they're just very demanding in terms of maintenance (both time and money) if you want nice beards/whiskers.

@@mathieushifera135 Im just talking genrally dude. Like seriously, people in the 1800's have amazing styles of whiskers! Some good examples may be Rutherford B Hayes, James Garfield and Abraham Lincoln.

@@cozycherry1790 Chester A. Arthur as well.

This is a very interesting question.

I don’t think I can agree with the statement that the slave revolts were more successful in French territories. The Haitian revolution was the only successful slave revolt in the Americas in the history of the Atlantic slave trade. There were many factors at play that lead to the successful revolution. 1.French Hispaniola had one of the largest slave populations on earth and a very very small small white population, both in terms of absolute population and when compared to the slave population. 2. It was VERY far removed from any large French population centers. By the time of the revolt France had lost influence over modern day US and Canada and lost many of its key colonies throughout the Americas. Yes technically they had the Louisiana territory but outside of the modern day state of LA it was NOT populated with French loyalists therefore had no population to mobilize or to exert regional influence. 3.Importantly the revolt took place during a time when France was embroiled in multiple revolutions, huge social upheaval, and multiple wars each one considered the largest in history up until that point. This is a HUGE point that’s often missed. Yes French Hispaniola was the most important economic center of France, but given the circumstances it was not a priority. When the monarchy was abolished in France there were multiple calls taken seriously by the new government for the emancipation for enslaved peoples. Iirc slavery was actually abolished during this time. This helped spur and inspire the revolution in Haiti. However when Napoleon took control he chose a very strong pro slavery policy (not surprising at all lol) to go along with his aspirations for the glory days of the French colonial empire of old. But by the time he sent reinforcement to Haiti the island was already out of French control. Iirc this had a huge influence on him and he abandoned his aspirations for a new global French empire, instead limiting his focus to continental Europe. This massively influenced his decision to sell the Louisiana territory. Also an important thing to keep in mind on this point was that Spain was in absolute shambles at the time, with many (albeit upper class and white) revolts throughout their colonies. This was due to the Peninsular war which was raging throughout Iberia at the time. 4. When it was clear France lost control of Hispaniola, they chose economic slavery over chattel slavery. They forced Haiti to pay reparations (the “reduced” 1834 (or ‘38 i can’t remember haha) total amounts to about 21 billion dollars in 2004 USD if Wikipedia is to be believed) which Haiti repaid over 30 years. They along with many colonial powers embargoed the new nation, and they set up huge blocks against any sort of Haitian economic development. Haiti was erased from the history of colonialism, and deliberately painted as a “failure” without any regards to its history. To put it mildly they ground Haiti into the ground. This is by far the worst thing that happened during the revolution. It got so bad that eventually the newly victorious government had to force newly emancipated people back into the sugar plantations they were just liberated from. Can you imagine the toll this took on the Haitian psyche? I can’t and I’m black. Sure the revolt was undoubtedly a huge victory for the enslaved peoples of Haiti but their descendants still suffer today because of French economic terrorism. Now to the German Coast revolt: Louisiana is a settler-colonial colony. This means there were large(ish) populations and a stronger presence of the central government. France never really invested in settler colonies as the Caribbean method of working enslaved peoples to death (Hispaniola had one of the highest mortality rates for enslaved peoples) and buying new ones was MUUUCCHHH more profitable than “investing” (read: forcing a few slaves to reproduce) in them like settler colonial colonies did. And finally, the vast majority of slave revolts in French colonies were brutally crushed and deliberately forgotten. This is common throughout the history of slavery, not just chattel slavery but throughout the history of slavery. It never looks good when your power is questioned, better to forget it ever happened lest it inspire new revolts. Just focusing on the Atlantic slave trade there were many many more slave revolts throughout the world not only in French colonies but also English, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, etc… colonies. Some reached the scale of the Haitian revolution, most died when slavers brutally repressed them. We don’t know about these because they were deliberately forgotten. The sad fact is that the vast majority of slave revolts regardless of the nation subjugating the peoples ended in abject failure. France is no exception to this.

Sometimes you find gold buried in the comments. My favourite class I took in college was on Afro-Caribbean Religions, and my professor was from Haiti. He was part of the Syrian/Lebanese-Haitian community. That alone, him being a very light skinned, Arab from Haiti, was very helpful in terms of my growth as an adult, capable of grasping the staggering complexity of the world. Anyway, thanks for sharing your take, and can you recommend any books about Haitian history that really stand out?

@@cdubsoptional7849 wow that must have been fascinating! I’m really not a historian, I’m just repeating what I’ve learned in class. I can recommend a very good documentary though “Égalité for All: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution”. It’s a bit overdramatized but hey it’s a live action PBS doc. I’m glad you liked my take :)

@@soso-zz9qf check out Divine Horsemen by Maya Deren. This is one of the essential texts

Bet

@@PremeTeamTX Word has it, state Republicans a working on a safe way to view the Johnny Reb segments, a la the Monty Python skit about the deadliest joke in WW2. Casualties are high but Gov. Abbott vows to keep moving forward.

Oh look a leftist

Throbbing, even.

That seems likely to me as well. They had the government on their side, after all. Hold private funerals, label the deaths as natural causes, and who's to say what really happened? The militia aren't going to tell the truth, at least not to others, and most of the slaves are dead, and wouldn't be listened to in any case.

It is probably very true. Keep in mind that the militia were most likely veterans of the revolutionary and various Indian wars of the time while a mob of untrained slaves trying to figure out weapons they most likely never used in real time were not going to fare very well

That's a pretty good point, I wonder why neither of them thought of it. But then again, it's quite likely that the militia's training was good enough to keep them safe from return fire from the likely small number of guns captured by the rebels, and the more accurate fire enough to make the rebels rout thus avoiding melee combat which would have certainly caused far more casualties.

That might be true but I tend to disagree. I would think that the government/planter class would rather highlight or exaggerate white deaths, as evidence of the enslaved army's "savagery". There was definitely that 19th century idea that black men were cowed and unmanly, and therefore would be poor fighters (see the Confederate slave soldier debate). However it's not that whites believed they were incapable of violence, just that they went about it in a dishonorable or sneaky way.

@@MravacKid because at the time the militia was essentially the only military force available locally. Keep in mind that during this period, the US had a very small government and didn’t empathize holding a large standing army on a permanent basis. The local community had to rely on volunteer militia men to fend off Indian attacks and whatnot.