Juneteenth and the war against slavery: 5 historic slave revolts

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Monday, June 19, 2023

Pee Dee River – 1526

Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón (circa 1480-1526), A Spanish explorer and colonist who founded a short-lived settlement along the Pee Dee River in modern day South Carolina. | Screengrab: HistoryNet

In 1526, Spanish official Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón, who was based in Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, attempted to found a colony along the Pee Dee River, in what is now South Carolina.

Established that June, the colony suffered from a series of problems, among them disease outbreaks and starvation. In November, the slave population rebelled and fled to nearby Native American villages.

“One authority on slave revolts believes the revolt was instigated by Native Americans angry over whites using their land. Africans, used to freedom in their homeland, probably needed no outside prodding to strike for liberty,” wrote historian William Loren Katz in 2017.

“They understandably fled enslavement in a dying European colony to start new lives in the woods among people who also rejected European enslavement.”

By wintertime, approximately 150 Spanish settlers abandoned the colony, returning to Santo Domingo.