Daring to Be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World

by Sudhir Hazareesingh

An Amazon Best History Title of the Month

A revelatory history of enslaved people's resistance and self-emancipation, across the Atlantic world and beyond.

In the 1720s, the West African chief Tomba was abducted for organizing the local resistance against slave raiders and imprisoned on a British ship, where he promptly led a revolt using a smuggled hammer. In the early nineteenth century, a pregnant woman named Solitude rallied laborers and soldiers to resist Napoleon’s efforts to reimpose slavery on Guadeloupe. A few decades later, Frederick Douglass fashioned his own template for self-emancipation. In Daring to Be Free, the acclaimed historian Sudhir Hazareesingh recasts the story of slavery’s end by showing that the enslaved themselves were at the center of the action—their voices, their resistance, and their extraordinary fight
for freedom.

Throughout, Daring to Be Free portrays the struggle for liberation from the perspective of the enslaved and, wherever possible, in their own words. It highlights the power of collective action, stressing the role of maroon communities, conspiracies, insurrections, and spiritual movements, from Haiti and Brazil to Cuba, Mauritius, and the American South. These acts of resistance involved entire communities, with women often at the heart of the story as warriors, organizers, and agents of radical change.

Employing written archives and oral history, Daring to Be Free shows how the struggle for freedom was shaped less by Western Enlightenment or Christian ideals than by the enslaved’s own spiritual, martial, and cultural resources. Emancipation wasn’t handed down by benevolent reformers—it was seized, again and again, by those who demanded freedom. This vital, eye-opening history reclaims abolition for those who fought to liberate themselves.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American, Audiobook

445 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2025

About the author

Sudhir Hazareesingh FBA is a British-Mauritian historian. He has been a fellow and Tutor in Politics at Balliol College, Oxford since 1990. Most of his work relates to modern political history from 1850; including the history of contemporary France as well as Napoleon, the Republic and Charles de Gaulle.

Reviews

[Bex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daring to be Free is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how people resisted enslavement throughout the Atlantic. Every chapter is thoroughly researched and written to focus on historical evidence documenting inspiring individuals and communities that resisted the brutality and degradation of enslavement. Their knowledge of war, deep spirituality, and resourcefulness allowed enslaved people to resist in many ways: from acts of noncompliance, running away, forming secret communities, or rising up. As someone raised in the U.S., this book taught me more about the Atlantic slave trade than any history class. We are taught abolition in a way that centers prominent white people without focusing on how emancipation could not have happened without the ceaseless resistance of enslaved men and women. I honestly think that this should be required reading in schools. I will be picking up a physical copy when this book comes out!

Thank you Net Galley, Farrar Straus and Giroux (publisher), and Sudhir Hazareesingh (author) for the ARC!)

[gaverne Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A welcome addition to an already rich literature.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much needed corrective to the popular imagining of history. With evidence based research and moral clarity, Hazareesingh connects the reader through the rich traditions of Africans resisting their own enslavement. From beehives through off hills to stop slave raiders to mixing of poison and magic. From the rural island plantations to the halls of power. At every turn, it was the enslaved themselves, not the waffling, contradictory abolitionists of textbooks and statues, who led the charge. The revolution and founding of Haiti became the rallying cry, showcasing the interconnectedness of the enslaved, who are often depicted as meek and weak. It was an international history, and a human story, blurred and hidden for too long.

[Special Thanks to Macmillain audio and Libro.fm for providing me with a free audiobook copy].

[Chelsea Knowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Daring to be Free reveals how enslaved people fought against slavery and how some became revolutionaries. This book gives a voice to the enslaved and discusses famous people who fought against enslavement such as Toussaint Louverture, Nat Turner, Dessalines and Frederick Douglass. The role of women is discussed too and the importance of slave narratives which proved hugely important in detailing what slavery was really like. This book isn’t just focused on the North American context like many books about slavery are as it considers Haiti, Cuba, Brazi and other countries as well as the United States. This book also discusses the culture and religions of enslaved people in their different contexts particularly spiritual influences from Africa.

I found this book to be very interesting and an important read considering most of the books I’ve read on slavery tend to focus on the horrors enslaved people experienced. Whereas, Daring to be Free gave agency to enslaved people and showed how they fought for their freedom and had their own ideas on how society should be run with free black communities. This book is well written and it gave me many things to think about. I enjoyed reading this and I think this is an important addition to the books about enslavement and I would recommend this.

Favourite Quote - But as the enslaved resisters have shown us throughout this book, and as pertinently summarized by Frederick Douglass: ‘power concedes nothing without a demand’.