Page "History of Bermuda" Paragraph 16

Slaves could be obtained by sale or purchase, auction debt, legal seizure or by gift.

The price of a slave depended on demand.

Throughout the 17th century Black children sold for £ 8, women from £ 10 to £ 20, and able bodied Black and Indian men for around £ 26.

Blacks and Indians never willingly accepted their status as slaves and seized any available opportunity to escape or rebel.

It was not easy to escape because of the size of the island and the nearest land being more than away, but still slaves ran off from their masters and hid in the caves along Bermuda's coast.

Others sought to plot against their masters.

One such plot occurred in 1656 when a dozen Black men, led by William Force, a free Black man plotted to murder their English masters.

As the appointed night arrived for the uprising, two of the slaves lost their nerve and reported the conspiracy to authorities.

The conspirators were rounded up and tried by court martial.

Two were hung and Force was later sent to the Bahamas with most of the island's other free blacks.

In 1673 15 Blacks conspired to kill their masters, Again, one of the conspirators lost his nerve and reported the conspiracy.

He was granted his freedom, five were branded, had their noses slit, and were whipped before being executed.

The other conspirators were branded and whipped.

This conspiracy resulted in the passage, in 1674, of more stringent laws effecting a slave's freedom of movement.

A slave found off his estate without a ticket from his owner could be beaten with a rod or whip.

A second offense would result in an ear being cut off.

Offending for a third time resulted in being whipped until the skin was broken and being branded.