Resisting and Assimilating : Week of 11.8

This week we focused on how slaves in Colonial Latin America resisted or assimilated to their position in society. We also read, Biography of a Slave : Juan Francisco Manzano, which opened up our eyes to the idea of urban slavery, as well as retaining our knowledge of planation slavery from last week. With this new found information we were able to compare and contrast the two types of slavery, and how the slaves were treated and behaved differently. Juna Fransico Manzano was a very different type of slave, at the beginning of his life, almost being treated as an adopted child into his mistresses family. He is an example of how someone can resist slavery, and in some ways assimilate into a slave role with our really knowing that they are doing so. Manzano knew he wasn’t supposed to learn to read and write, yet did so because it helped him to lead a better life. He also assimilated without knowing by pleasing his masters. By learning how to preform slave duties, and speaking to masters in a manner that he knew they wanted to hear he was assimilating into his role. these are just some ways that slaves resisted or assimilated, not by free will and conscience choice, but to stay alive.