«Alçar con la t[ie]rra»: the Santo Domingo de la Española rebellion of 1521
Published : 2024-06-16
Section : Scientific articles
Abstract
This article examines the first large-scale, indisputably documented Black-led rebellion that manifested itself on the island of Hispaniola: the Santo Domingo Slave Revolt of 1521, commonly referred to as the “Christmas Rebellion” of 1521. As one of the first rebellions in the Americas led by Black people, the Christmas Rebellion is extraordinary in that it is borderline with lasting implications-such as the establishment of the anti-Black slave laws of 1522 or the ordinances written by Diego Columbus that followed. Not only are Columbus’ slave laws the first anti-Black control-setting plans, but, within his 1522 decree where the laws appear, there is also the narrative of the rebellion itself. However, most scholars have turned to Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo’s 1535 account. In this article, I read several narratives side by side to better understand the continuities and discontinuities of the Christmas Rebellion of 1521. Together, these narratives enhance our ability to improve our understanding of how dominance, punishment, enslavement, and colonial bureaucracy operated in the early modern Atlantic world, and we can come to see how the framing of a triumphant colonizer narrative extends through time as an enduring structure. Moreover, the Christmas Rebellion and the slave laws of 1522 that followed are important for scholars today who desire the best understanding of racialization in this period and the strategies of rebellion employed through Black and African leadership.
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References
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