## Introduction  
Resistance to slavery was a constant feature of American society from colonial times until emancipation in 1865. The struggles of enslaved people took many forms, from sabotage and running away to cities and free territories, to marronage, conspiracies and actual revolts. Sabotage was certainly the most widespread expression of resistance. People broke farm equipment, feigned illness, committed theft and arson and sometimes resorted to self-mutilation. Verbal and physical confrontations, gestures, attitudes and looks that showed lack of respect and challenged authority were also part of the day-to-day resistance. These overt manifestations of hostility and insubordination could be brutally punished, as Frederick Douglass recounted, '[Nelly] was whipped-severely whipped; but she was not subdued, for she continued to denounce the overseer, and to call him every vile name' (Douglass, 1855, p. 95).  
The most visible rejection of enslavement, however, took the form of escape, and the runaways' most common destination was the Southern cities. In large cities like New Orleans, Charleston and Savannah they tried to melt into communities of free blacks and pass as free themselves. Others opted for foreign territories where they were accorded free status, such as Spanish Florida, Mexico or the Caribbean. When the North abolished slavery between the late