João José Reis discusses collective slave resistance in Brazil in the form of quilombos and uprisings. These were the most common types of active resistance. He argues that although it was not the only one, religion was a crucial factor in revolts as 'a language and inspiration' most notably for Muslim rebels, but also for those devoted to Catholic saints and Yoruba orixás. The author also points out that the enslaved contributed actively to their emancipation in 1888 with numerous local uprisings and mass flights from plantations.  
Two chapters examine the most spectacular and successful example of slave resistance in the Americas, the Haitian Revolution. Sylviane A. Diouf discusses the influence of the Haitian Revolution on aborted slave conspiracies and actual revolts in the United States. Diouf emphasizes that the Haitian Revolution was one of the most important political events of its time in the Americas.  
Matthew J. Smith's chapter goes beyond the revolutionary process to evaluate the relationship between the Haitian Revolution and Africa. For the author, Haiti has always provided the world with a counter-discourse to European racist discourse regarding Africa. Smith suggests that, throughout the twentieth century, political events and economic and environmental crises placed Haiti and the African continent in a position of mutual solidarity and mutual influence, in both the political and cultural realms.