6. Were the 1790s really a “turning point” in the resistance of Black Jamaicans?

What are we learning about?

Using Historian Eugene Genovese’s (1979) contentious interpretation that the revolutions in France and St Domingue brought a ‘turning point’ in the resistance of enslaved workers across the Americas, students will use sources of evidence across the period – as well as their timeline of ‘events’– to assess whether Genovese’s thesis applies to Jamaica. Students will again consider the evidence/archive problems at the heart of writing any history of resistance to colonial rule.

Lesson Objectives

Explore Genovese’s interpretation of Black resistance and its application to our enquiry question.
To recap the problems historians face using evidence of resistance to British rule
To evaluate Genovese’s interpretation using sources of evidence.

PowerPoint Lesson

Download here – Lesson 6

Suggested Tasks

Task A: Play a game recapping key dates / map out rebellions across Jamaica during out period of study.
Task B: Discuss Genovese’s interpretation of the 1790s as a turning point in the organised resistance of the enslaved and make comparisons with other interpretations.
Task C: Make inferences from the collection of sources to evaluate Gott’s argument.
Task D: Write a paragraph – using sources – that constructs an argument on the extent of change over the period.