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A Kick in the Belly: Women, Slavery and Resistance
The story of the enslaved West Indian women in the struggle for freedomThe forgotten history of women slaves and their struggle for liberation. Enslaved West Indian women had few opportunities to record their stories for posterity. In this riveting work of historical reclamation, Stella Dadzie recovers the lives of women who played a vital role in developing a culture of slave resistance across the Caribbean. Dadzie follows a savage trail from Elmina Castle in Ghana and the horrors of the Middle Passage, as slaves were transported across the Atlantic, to the sugar plantations of Jamaica and beyond. She reveals women who were central to slave rebellions and liberation. There are African queens, such as Amina, who led a 20,000-strong army. There is Mary Prince, sold at twelve years old, never to see her sisters or mother again. Asante Nanny the Maroon, the legendary obeah sorceress, who guided the rebel forces in the Blue Mountains during the First Maroon War. Whether responding to the horrendous conditions of plantation life, the sadistic vagaries of their captors or the “peculiar burdens of their sex,” their collective sanity relied on a highly subversive adaptation of the values and cultures they smuggled from their lost homes. By sustaining or adapting remembered cultural practices, they ensured that the lives of chattel slaves retained both meaning and purpose. A Kick in the Belly makes clear that subtle acts of insubordination and conscious acts of rebellion came to undermine the very fabric of West Indian slavery.
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 20, 2020
43 people are currently reading
1762 people want to read
About the author
Stella Dadzie
16 books11 followersStella Dadzie is a British educationalist, activist, writer and historian and a founder member of Organisation for Women of Asian and African Descent (OWAAD). Her career as a writer, speaker and education activist spans over 40 years, gaining her an international reputation in her field.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
November 14, 2020
writing: clear & concise
pace: great
topic: slavery, west indies, resistance, women
importance: SO MUCH. do we need any more evidence for reparations? but this is why we aren't taught abt slavery in detail
pace: great
topic: slavery, west indies, resistance, women
importance: SO MUCH. do we need any more evidence for reparations? but this is why we aren't taught abt slavery in detail
October 23, 2020
This is a really good and timely book. While if you are American -North or South- or West Indian and have studied slavery, some of the book will be familiar. there is still much to be learned from the book. Dadzie looks at the impact of slavery, mostly in the West Indies, on Black women. The book chronicles not only slavery in the West Indies but also capture and transportation. Hopefully, Dadzie's excellent book will be an introductory text to a future series dealing with women and slavery.
March 16, 2021
I don't usually rate non-fic, but this one needed ot. This was a great read!
-As my two estates are at the two extremities of the island, I am entitled to say from my own knowledge...that book-keepers and overseers kick black women in the belly from one end of Jamaica to the other- Matthew Monk Lewis
🌍🌍🌍
Dadzie uses clear, precise writing to document the stealing, transportation, subjugation, enslavement, and rebellion of Africans, notably our women, from The Continent to the New World.
🌍🌎🌏
As she presents the forgotten spaces and importance of women and the crucial contributions they made within this time, her acerbic wit and commitment to ensuring that whatever illumination could be brought so that these women, named and unnamed, would have their place in the narrative of resistance.
🌏🌎🌍
Dadzie holds nothing back as she exposes the realities and debunks the racialised perceptions that have been a part of the colonizers handbook for far too long. She uses this research to elucidate the roles that our ancestors have been placed in and how that influences to this day the way white society reacts to and perpetuates held presumptions on our bodies and consciousness.
🌎🌎🌎
-Slavery and the Slave Trade, with its crude levelling of sexual distinctions, meant that African women shared every inch of the man's spiritual and physical odyssey- Lucille Mathurin Mair
🌎🌍🌏
There is no doubt that Black women are absolutely the definition of strength. The horrors they endured, witnessed, made a part of, and yet still, they stood firmly in their right to be free, to orchestrate action, and undermine the colonialist institution.
🌎🌏🌎
-As my two estates are at the two extremities of the island, I am entitled to say from my own knowledge...that book-keepers and overseers kick black women in the belly from one end of Jamaica to the other- Matthew Monk Lewis
🌍🌍🌍
Dadzie uses clear, precise writing to document the stealing, transportation, subjugation, enslavement, and rebellion of Africans, notably our women, from The Continent to the New World.
🌍🌎🌏
As she presents the forgotten spaces and importance of women and the crucial contributions they made within this time, her acerbic wit and commitment to ensuring that whatever illumination could be brought so that these women, named and unnamed, would have their place in the narrative of resistance.
🌏🌎🌍
Dadzie holds nothing back as she exposes the realities and debunks the racialised perceptions that have been a part of the colonizers handbook for far too long. She uses this research to elucidate the roles that our ancestors have been placed in and how that influences to this day the way white society reacts to and perpetuates held presumptions on our bodies and consciousness.
🌎🌎🌎
-Slavery and the Slave Trade, with its crude levelling of sexual distinctions, meant that African women shared every inch of the man's spiritual and physical odyssey- Lucille Mathurin Mair
🌎🌍🌏
There is no doubt that Black women are absolutely the definition of strength. The horrors they endured, witnessed, made a part of, and yet still, they stood firmly in their right to be free, to orchestrate action, and undermine the colonialist institution.
🌎🌏🌎
November 12, 2025
What was known as the ‘New World’ was built on colonialism, enslavement, dispossession and appropriation (there was, of course, a perfectly well functioning ‘Old World’ there before 1492 and the beginning in earnest of that colonialism, enslavement, dispossession and appropriation). The continents’ Indigenous peoples bore the initial brunt of both dispossession and enslavement – but the enslavement quickly came to be carried by people stolen, kidnapped and otherwise acquired from (mainly west and west central) Africa. It is estimated that around 12.5 million people were shipped out between 1501 and 1867, and that 10.7 million were disembarked as enslaved in the Americas: of that 1.8 million who didn’t make it, only around 160,000 (were) disembarked elsewhere (the majority of whom overthrew the captors at sea and returned ’home’). These are blunt and raw figures giving a sense of the extent of the trade in humans, the dispossession of their humanity and subjecthood and conversion to chattels.
Many of us have an image of the life of the enslaved – yet paradoxically for much of the English-speaking world at least, that image is based on the USA, which received directly fewer than 400,00 of those enslaved people, far fewer than the English, Spanish, French and Dutch colonies of the Caribbean, or Portuguese and Spanish South America. This is not to diminish the brutality of USA’s enslavement of humans, but to make the point that our image based on their experience is hardly typical, and to a very large degree lets Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands off the hook when it comes to the consequences of that colonialism, enslavement, dispossession and appropriation.
Our image is also, as is much of our historical understanding, shaped by the experiences of men – even among the dispossessed and enslaved. It is precisely this image that Stella Dadzie sets disrupts in this (fairly) short, engaging exploration of women’s experiences of and resistance to the system of enslavement. She focuses almost exclusively on the British West Indies and the parts of west Africa from which the enslaved in those colonies were acquired. The sources, as much as anything else, mean that she accentuates the experiences of Jamaica and Barbados, but draws also on places such as Antigua, Tobago, St Kitts and outside the British world Montserrat and the Antilles making clear although systems and legislation may have varied slightly, patterns and practices were similar.
She structures her case the trace the shift from west Africa through the Middle Passage to productive and reproductive life, including the maintenance and production of cultural autonomy. In doing so she disrupts and debunks many of our dominant images of the lives of the enslaved. First, in comparison to our image of the USA’s southern states, the West Indies colonies were sugar producers resulting in profoundly different work experiences. We learn, for instance, that the majority of ‘field hands’ in Barbados were probably women. Although Dadzie does not make this point explicitly (it is implicit in her case) that this is largely written out of our received historical understandings may well because colonial discourses of dehumanisation were not sufficient to protect the patriarchal image of (white) women’s fragility. Second, because in places such as Jamaica many of the enslaved were drawn from specific regions of west Africa there is a good chance that there was considerable continuation of ‘Old World’ knowledge systems and orders, enhancing autonomy and perhaps enriching resistance.
Methodologically Dadzie has ‘re-read’ existing material to locate and relocate women, but has also revisited sources and in the manner of a good revisionist historian asked new questions of both the evidence and its existing interpretations, meaning that this is not just a case of writing women into an established narrative. The case she makes here should be enough for us to rethink major aspects of established historical understanding. For instance, she does not just assert women’s participation in rebellion but grants many key leadership roles, while recognising the patchiness of evidence so asserting a plausible case (the best we can do in many instances) that unsettles the dominant patriarchal lens. More significantly, she rethinks the fairly well-known birth rate evidence from the early 19th century, and especially the rise in live births and fall in neo-natal mortality to argue that women were actively controlling fertility, suggesting also that this was as resistance to slavery. It is a powerful and highly plausible case: the evidence and her interpretation is weighty. It is also a case that suggests a high level of cultural resistance, maintenance of subjecthood and powerful knowledge networks of women.
Alongside this significant rethinking of the West Indies system of slavery Dadzie has been careful in her attention to her intended audience, which is not narrowly cast as academics (like me) but a wider reading public. It is a well evidenced case but the accoutrements of academic justification do not intrude. On top of that, the writing style is rich and engaging (all power to both Dadzie and her editor here), while the layout of the text, fairly short chapters and relatively large typeface send out important messages about accessibility. At a time when de/colonial history and histories of enslavement have a high profile in Britain I hope this finds a wide audience while also having an impact on scholarly and research communities – it deserves both.
Highly recommended.
Many of us have an image of the life of the enslaved – yet paradoxically for much of the English-speaking world at least, that image is based on the USA, which received directly fewer than 400,00 of those enslaved people, far fewer than the English, Spanish, French and Dutch colonies of the Caribbean, or Portuguese and Spanish South America. This is not to diminish the brutality of USA’s enslavement of humans, but to make the point that our image based on their experience is hardly typical, and to a very large degree lets Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands off the hook when it comes to the consequences of that colonialism, enslavement, dispossession and appropriation.
Our image is also, as is much of our historical understanding, shaped by the experiences of men – even among the dispossessed and enslaved. It is precisely this image that Stella Dadzie sets disrupts in this (fairly) short, engaging exploration of women’s experiences of and resistance to the system of enslavement. She focuses almost exclusively on the British West Indies and the parts of west Africa from which the enslaved in those colonies were acquired. The sources, as much as anything else, mean that she accentuates the experiences of Jamaica and Barbados, but draws also on places such as Antigua, Tobago, St Kitts and outside the British world Montserrat and the Antilles making clear although systems and legislation may have varied slightly, patterns and practices were similar.
She structures her case the trace the shift from west Africa through the Middle Passage to productive and reproductive life, including the maintenance and production of cultural autonomy. In doing so she disrupts and debunks many of our dominant images of the lives of the enslaved. First, in comparison to our image of the USA’s southern states, the West Indies colonies were sugar producers resulting in profoundly different work experiences. We learn, for instance, that the majority of ‘field hands’ in Barbados were probably women. Although Dadzie does not make this point explicitly (it is implicit in her case) that this is largely written out of our received historical understandings may well because colonial discourses of dehumanisation were not sufficient to protect the patriarchal image of (white) women’s fragility. Second, because in places such as Jamaica many of the enslaved were drawn from specific regions of west Africa there is a good chance that there was considerable continuation of ‘Old World’ knowledge systems and orders, enhancing autonomy and perhaps enriching resistance.
Methodologically Dadzie has ‘re-read’ existing material to locate and relocate women, but has also revisited sources and in the manner of a good revisionist historian asked new questions of both the evidence and its existing interpretations, meaning that this is not just a case of writing women into an established narrative. The case she makes here should be enough for us to rethink major aspects of established historical understanding. For instance, she does not just assert women’s participation in rebellion but grants many key leadership roles, while recognising the patchiness of evidence so asserting a plausible case (the best we can do in many instances) that unsettles the dominant patriarchal lens. More significantly, she rethinks the fairly well-known birth rate evidence from the early 19th century, and especially the rise in live births and fall in neo-natal mortality to argue that women were actively controlling fertility, suggesting also that this was as resistance to slavery. It is a powerful and highly plausible case: the evidence and her interpretation is weighty. It is also a case that suggests a high level of cultural resistance, maintenance of subjecthood and powerful knowledge networks of women.
Alongside this significant rethinking of the West Indies system of slavery Dadzie has been careful in her attention to her intended audience, which is not narrowly cast as academics (like me) but a wider reading public. It is a well evidenced case but the accoutrements of academic justification do not intrude. On top of that, the writing style is rich and engaging (all power to both Dadzie and her editor here), while the layout of the text, fairly short chapters and relatively large typeface send out important messages about accessibility. At a time when de/colonial history and histories of enslavement have a high profile in Britain I hope this finds a wide audience while also having an impact on scholarly and research communities – it deserves both.
Highly recommended.
November 8, 2020
A Kick in the Belly is a short but indispensable study of the British Empire's crimes in the 17th, 18th, and 19th-century slave trade. However, what is far more consequential is how those women, specifically enslaved West Indian women in the Caribbean, fought and resisted the brutal conditions of slavery. As Dadzie attests, enslaved African women carry "many of her race's heaviest burdens" (170). Despite those many burdens, enslaved African women were also carriers of a collective consciousness, a sense of being in the world defined by pain, anguish, and suffering but also resistance, perseverance, and revolution. As Dadzie sees it, these women "played a vital role as they moulded and reshaped the cultural traditions that would sustain their people through centuries of tyranny, so that we, their distant kin and scattered descendants, would know our worth" (170). Passages like this remind me of the work of Audre Lorde, the black radical feminist, who, in her poem "Black Mother Woman," echoes Dadzie sentiment:
But I have peeled away your anger
down to the core of love
and look mother
I Am
a dark temple
where your true spirit rises
beautiful
and tough as chestnut
stanchion against your nightmares of weakness
and if my eyes conceal
a squadron of conflicting rebellions
I learned from you
to define myself
through your denials.
Both Dadzie and Lorde engage this question of what the black maternal body endures and produces, and for both Dadzie and Lorde, the black maternal body is the inheritor of "a wealth of inner resources" (171).
But I have peeled away your anger
down to the core of love
and look mother
I Am
a dark temple
where your true spirit rises
beautiful
and tough as chestnut
stanchion against your nightmares of weakness
and if my eyes conceal
a squadron of conflicting rebellions
I learned from you
to define myself
through your denials.
Both Dadzie and Lorde engage this question of what the black maternal body endures and produces, and for both Dadzie and Lorde, the black maternal body is the inheritor of "a wealth of inner resources" (171).
January 10, 2021
Thought it was great, a hard mission to fulfil the aim of the book, which is to fill the gaps caused by hundreds of years of white washing and centring europeans and white Americans at the centre of the movement for abolition. Dadzie does a great job at giving black women back their voice and their autonomy, constantly reiterating the point that black female slaves cannot be reduced to docile, sexualised beings that were indifferent and simply consigned to their fate as slaves. Consistently smashing the popular belief of women's "luck" in the system of slavery, that they got away lightly in comparison to their male counterparts, Dadzie delves into the various ways that the slave system uniquely punished women and therefore the way that women had huge vested interest in abolition and the ways in which they were uniquely situated to bring the system to its knees. In particular, the chapter surrounding research into the ways in which women, defiant to the interests of the slave owners and the slave system as a whole, managed to reduce the population of slaves through the reclamation of their body autonomy and a determination not to allow any human to be born into the system of slavery.
January 11, 2024
a really powerful, but painful, read as a young black woman. truly chattel slavery/the slave trade is a history that should not be forgotten, nor should it be diluted and this book succinctly and sharply details the experience through the lens of women.
a necessary read!
a necessary read!
December 13, 2025
Incredibly accessible and yet concise exploration of how women and their bodies were treated during slavery.
February 22, 2022
As the subtitle suggests, this is a historical account of Europe's encounter with Africa and the trade in enslaved people that followed on from that. The early chapters tell the story in broad sweep, detailing the damage done to African society and the cruelty of the trade. Women were swept up in the raids that captured those destined to be transported and were subjected to its ordeals without any particular consideration being given to their gender, the expectation being that they would labour in equal hardship alongside the men similarly enslaved. Dadzie reviews the evidence of their particularly vulnerability to the frequent sexual abuse they experienced during the sea crossings and also their role in fomenting frequent onboard uprisings in attempts to seize control of vessels and return to their homes, most of which were suppressed with great violence by crews with full armouries of weapons.
The book is most informative on the ways in which women fitted into the political economy of the slave plantation, especially in the British West Indies. She argues that they were more numerous in the most arduous categories of labour, with field labour being particularly evident. Male slaves seem to have been more involved in trades such as blacksmith and driving. Women were limited to either fieldwork or domestic work in the master's household.
Later chapters discuss the role of female fertility in the period after 1807, when the trade in enslaved people was abolished. From that point onwards the maintenance of the pool of slave labour depended on births among the enslaved community. The size of these populations had been plummeting for sometime and was reaching dramatic levels by the 1810s. Between 1815 and 1819 the St Lucia population declined by 25.5%; and 26% between 1819 and 1821 in Tobago. In Jamaica the decrease went from 0.7% per 1000 to 4.8% in 16 years. Dadzie sees the reason for this as arising from the failure of planters to implement reforms of that period which aimed to secure better treatment for slaves (abolition of whipping, better care for pregnant women) in order to improve the well-being of a now more precious stock. But the owners saw these measures as impacting on the productivity of the workforce and continued to view this as only being maintained by brutal overseeing.
In the years leading up to emancipation women made up a larger proportion of field hands, with the stress of hard physical work reducing fertility. But Dadzie considers the likelihood that was also a product of the women using their own means to control their fertility as a refusal to raise children destined for slavery. It is worth noting that NB, the separation of slave families, with children being sold off to work on other plantations was not forbidden in Jamaica until 1826. Because of this, pregnancy and motherhood brought no benefits to the women. Evidence of high levels of miscarriage – one to every 4.6 live births in the case of one Jamaican estate – could be related to the use of herbal abortifacients and also, most likely to infanticide, justified by the wish not to raise children into slavery. Support for this viewpoint might lie in the fact that, as the prospect of emancipation drew near, some slave populations began to increase. In Jamaica the birth-rate increased from 28.4% in 1817-29 to 40% by 1840m and this despite the exodus of white doctors and closure of plantation hospitals.
A late chapter also considers the role of enslaved women in preserving the culture of the African homeland. The oral traditions of the people were passed down through women to their daughters and became of resource for resisting the power of the white plantation owner and the civilisation he was embedded in. Much of this sustained the maroon revolts that facilitated the escape from slavery of some groups, with legendary figures like Nanny being at the centre of the resistance.
The book is most informative on the ways in which women fitted into the political economy of the slave plantation, especially in the British West Indies. She argues that they were more numerous in the most arduous categories of labour, with field labour being particularly evident. Male slaves seem to have been more involved in trades such as blacksmith and driving. Women were limited to either fieldwork or domestic work in the master's household.
Later chapters discuss the role of female fertility in the period after 1807, when the trade in enslaved people was abolished. From that point onwards the maintenance of the pool of slave labour depended on births among the enslaved community. The size of these populations had been plummeting for sometime and was reaching dramatic levels by the 1810s. Between 1815 and 1819 the St Lucia population declined by 25.5%; and 26% between 1819 and 1821 in Tobago. In Jamaica the decrease went from 0.7% per 1000 to 4.8% in 16 years. Dadzie sees the reason for this as arising from the failure of planters to implement reforms of that period which aimed to secure better treatment for slaves (abolition of whipping, better care for pregnant women) in order to improve the well-being of a now more precious stock. But the owners saw these measures as impacting on the productivity of the workforce and continued to view this as only being maintained by brutal overseeing.
In the years leading up to emancipation women made up a larger proportion of field hands, with the stress of hard physical work reducing fertility. But Dadzie considers the likelihood that was also a product of the women using their own means to control their fertility as a refusal to raise children destined for slavery. It is worth noting that NB, the separation of slave families, with children being sold off to work on other plantations was not forbidden in Jamaica until 1826. Because of this, pregnancy and motherhood brought no benefits to the women. Evidence of high levels of miscarriage – one to every 4.6 live births in the case of one Jamaican estate – could be related to the use of herbal abortifacients and also, most likely to infanticide, justified by the wish not to raise children into slavery. Support for this viewpoint might lie in the fact that, as the prospect of emancipation drew near, some slave populations began to increase. In Jamaica the birth-rate increased from 28.4% in 1817-29 to 40% by 1840m and this despite the exodus of white doctors and closure of plantation hospitals.
A late chapter also considers the role of enslaved women in preserving the culture of the African homeland. The oral traditions of the people were passed down through women to their daughters and became of resource for resisting the power of the white plantation owner and the civilisation he was embedded in. Much of this sustained the maroon revolts that facilitated the escape from slavery of some groups, with legendary figures like Nanny being at the centre of the resistance.
December 13, 2020
An inspiring and extremely well-written study of African women in the transatlantic slave trade. Often framed as victims, A Kick in the Belly compels readers to reconsider the role of enslaved women in the struggle for freedom with stories of resistance and resiliency.
January 17, 2025
A Kick In the Belly languished on my shelves for too long, and then it languished on my currently reading stack for too long. It's an emotionally heavy read, and I regret dragging my heels with it because it is absolutely brilliant.
With engaging and accessible style, A Kick in the Belly details a wide area of the history of enslavement with surprising brevity. It addresses the trading of slaves in Africa, the Middle Passage, and life for enslaved women in the Caribbean. Most of what I know about the history of slavery is centred in Africa and the Middle Passage (and while these areas of the book featured some information I was familiar with, there was still much for me to learn here), and the US and Canada (due to me being Canadian). The Caribbean focus here meant that large portions of the book were completely new to me. Although I have read some fiction about slavery in the Caribbean, and I was aware of some historical figures and their legacies (Nanny of the Maroons, for example), there was so much I didn't know, and I'm grateful to have had the chance to learn about this history. The book addresses the horrific things enacted upon enslaved women and the horrible conditions they were made to live and work in, but it also addresses the incredible actions or inactions they committed as part of intentional and unintentional resistance to slavery, plantation managers, and the often-absentee slave owners. I learned so much from this book, and it will stay with me for a long time. It's one I would be interested in rereading to better absorb the information (which makes it fortunate that I own my copy), but I also am definitely interested in some of the sources included here as I would want to expand that knowledge even further.
I can't recommend this one highly enough. It's a brilliant book that covers an essential history in an accessible way, and I learned a great deal.
With engaging and accessible style, A Kick in the Belly details a wide area of the history of enslavement with surprising brevity. It addresses the trading of slaves in Africa, the Middle Passage, and life for enslaved women in the Caribbean. Most of what I know about the history of slavery is centred in Africa and the Middle Passage (and while these areas of the book featured some information I was familiar with, there was still much for me to learn here), and the US and Canada (due to me being Canadian). The Caribbean focus here meant that large portions of the book were completely new to me. Although I have read some fiction about slavery in the Caribbean, and I was aware of some historical figures and their legacies (Nanny of the Maroons, for example), there was so much I didn't know, and I'm grateful to have had the chance to learn about this history. The book addresses the horrific things enacted upon enslaved women and the horrible conditions they were made to live and work in, but it also addresses the incredible actions or inactions they committed as part of intentional and unintentional resistance to slavery, plantation managers, and the often-absentee slave owners. I learned so much from this book, and it will stay with me for a long time. It's one I would be interested in rereading to better absorb the information (which makes it fortunate that I own my copy), but I also am definitely interested in some of the sources included here as I would want to expand that knowledge even further.
I can't recommend this one highly enough. It's a brilliant book that covers an essential history in an accessible way, and I learned a great deal.
August 5, 2024
A concise, fast paced overview of the experience of enslaved women throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean, exploring the way that black women had uniquely gendered experiences in slavery, with both brutality and resistance. I have studied this topic in the past so some of the information was a retread for me, but it was so well written that I didn’t mind. This is a quick read and an excellent starting point to delve deeper into the history of slavery with an important and necessary intersectional spin.
June 12, 2021
A really informative and accessible look into slavery in the West Indies with a particular focus on women.
This book flips the idea, that female slaves were docile and resigned to their fate, on its head. Dadzie explores Black women’s resistance and resilience against slavery and the many ways in which they took control over their own outcomes.
Highly recommended reading!!
This book flips the idea, that female slaves were docile and resigned to their fate, on its head. Dadzie explores Black women’s resistance and resilience against slavery and the many ways in which they took control over their own outcomes.
Highly recommended reading!!
November 3, 2020
I think this would be a great addition for any high school history classroom (or early college).
June 12, 2021
Wow, what a book! This is a valuable record of the particular horrors that women suffered during slavery in the Caribbean, and the role they played in perseverance and resistance. It's a difficult read in terms of content, for obvious reasons - the horrors of slavery and the specific toll taken on women is graphically detailed. Information will be familiar to anyone with a background in Caribbean history, but the focus on women's stories, voices and experiences makes it worth your while.
I especially appreciated the exploration of African background, heritage, knowledge and traditions, and how they were brought over to the Caribbean. The book is laid out in a very logical and comprehensive way, covering everything from the development of slavery and role of women leaders in resistance, to the Middle Passage, to life on the plantations, punishments, reproductive issues and rebellions. I was interested in this topic as I was already somewhat familiar with it, having done a final project on women's suffering during slavery for History class in high school. There's a depth of information here that's truly revealing, and as much as it's horrifying, it's also inspiring to see the ways that women were able to resist. Much of history hasn't captured that, I'm so glad this book exists! The focus on the Caribbean makes it particularly valuable to those interested in feminist and Caribbean history.
It's also written in an accessible and non-academic way that's quite approachable, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the topic. I listened to the audiobook on scribd, which was very well done and not too long, about 6 hours. Do keep in mind though that there are some illustrations in the print version that you'll miss on the audio.
I especially appreciated the exploration of African background, heritage, knowledge and traditions, and how they were brought over to the Caribbean. The book is laid out in a very logical and comprehensive way, covering everything from the development of slavery and role of women leaders in resistance, to the Middle Passage, to life on the plantations, punishments, reproductive issues and rebellions. I was interested in this topic as I was already somewhat familiar with it, having done a final project on women's suffering during slavery for History class in high school. There's a depth of information here that's truly revealing, and as much as it's horrifying, it's also inspiring to see the ways that women were able to resist. Much of history hasn't captured that, I'm so glad this book exists! The focus on the Caribbean makes it particularly valuable to those interested in feminist and Caribbean history.
It's also written in an accessible and non-academic way that's quite approachable, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the topic. I listened to the audiobook on scribd, which was very well done and not too long, about 6 hours. Do keep in mind though that there are some illustrations in the print version that you'll miss on the audio.
December 29, 2023
A monumental contribution! A first history of enslaved women in the Caribbean, including the story of the serious resistance of these women. A great book by Stella Dadzie a British activist and educator, she has been very strong in the British Black Women’s Movement. A very readable and academic book with notes and an excellent index, we also learn about specific stories of women’s resistance.
I got very interested, for example, in the legendary Nanny of the Maroons or Queen Nanny of Jamaica who fought for a territory of their own (just one of the many stories).
Focused on the British slave trade and the enslaved people of the Caribbean, A Kick in the Belly documents the experiences of women like I’ve never read before and it shows how the capitalist world thrived on slavery but was challenged by the powerful resistance of women during this time.
“Indeed, the nation’s rise to world dominance could not have occurred without the unprecedented wealth generated by the sale of African slaves and the blatant exploitation of labour.”
The example of Nanny’s accomplishment resisting this brutal exploitation is amazing. As a result they “found New Nanny Town. The Portland Maroons refer to it as ‘Women’s Town’ because it was known as a haven for women, children and non-combatant men.”
Although the book was difficult at times because of the detailed documentation of extreme cruelty, this is a necessary read for a culture of white supremacy that we have been raised in.
I have such admiration and love for Stella Dadzie upon reading this book and I know that it is a linchpin in the decolonization process. Highly recommend
I got very interested, for example, in the legendary Nanny of the Maroons or Queen Nanny of Jamaica who fought for a territory of their own (just one of the many stories).
Focused on the British slave trade and the enslaved people of the Caribbean, A Kick in the Belly documents the experiences of women like I’ve never read before and it shows how the capitalist world thrived on slavery but was challenged by the powerful resistance of women during this time.
“Indeed, the nation’s rise to world dominance could not have occurred without the unprecedented wealth generated by the sale of African slaves and the blatant exploitation of labour.”
The example of Nanny’s accomplishment resisting this brutal exploitation is amazing. As a result they “found New Nanny Town. The Portland Maroons refer to it as ‘Women’s Town’ because it was known as a haven for women, children and non-combatant men.”
Although the book was difficult at times because of the detailed documentation of extreme cruelty, this is a necessary read for a culture of white supremacy that we have been raised in.
I have such admiration and love for Stella Dadzie upon reading this book and I know that it is a linchpin in the decolonization process. Highly recommend
October 29, 2020
Absolutely amazing to see the lives of enslaved women illuminated and brought from the shadows to the forefront.
December 7, 2022
Honestly, I was disappointed by this book
March 27, 2021
"If anything is to be learnt from this shared history of ours, it is that our capacity to challenge its legacies remains largely untapped."
A Kick in the Belly is a powerful historical examination of the lives of enslaved West Indian women. However it's far more than that, Dadzie uses her intro and afterwards to highlights how modern slavery, human trafficking, exploitation of African resources are all problems that plague us today and make this history and the legacy of the history so important.
This book almost certainly has some heavy passages and traumatic content and therefore is not one I recommend lightly.
However it's an area of history not commonly touched on in mainstream texts, as part of my history degree, we had a couple of clssses on slavery which predominantly focused on the American South and whilst this did examine slave resistance, culture, community etc, this wasn't a gendered history and largely excluded slavery in the Caribbean.
The reason this book is so important is because Stella Dadzie makes the history of academics accessible, and applies a gendered focus which is generally less widespread in accessible media.
Until reading this book I had never though about the impact of women menstruating in the middle passage, the specific impacts on women's gynaecological health and fertility caused by the hardships they faced. Whilst I had some knowledge of women's roles, the punishments they faced, living in fear of rape and the brutalities of slavery. There were many aspects of women's experiences specifically that this book focused on that I had not necessarily considered in the way Dadzie discussed.
One of the most interesting elements for me was Stella Dadzie's discussions surrounding women's subversion of their white owners through taking control of their fertility. This was not something I'd read about in the context of slavery, but was something I'd focused my masters thesis on in context of Apartheid South Africa. It brought to light how women throughout history have resisted and subverted power in ways in which are not always clearly documented, but points to the agency and the resilience of women throughout history. By having abortions and preventing pregnancy these enslaved women consciously stopped slave owners from gaining more slaves. These were powerful acts of resistance from enslaved women that have not necessarily been recorded, not to mention the psychological effects and trauma this had on these women.
Stella Dadzie's work is an excellently researched and well put together exploration of enslaved women's position in the Caribbean. It's an important area of our history that gets too little focus and she provides a light into the past to help remember these women and their rebellious acts.
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July 10, 2021Thoughts:
-Well-written and well-researched
-Focuses on enslaved women in the Caribbean. As Dadzie notes, histories of Atlantic slavery understudy enslaved women, and as such her research is vitally important
At times it seems that Dadzie takes for granted the gender/sex binary. For example, on page 67 in reference to the fact that Jamaica was "prone to revolt," she writes: “Early Jamaican planters…are known to have expressed a preference for male slaves. Over 70 per cent of slave imports are thought to have been male prior to 1700, providing a perfect crucible for tempers fueled by testosterone and the frustrations of stolen liberty." The explanation that men were more likely to revolt because of testosterone reinforces cultural myths about T as increasing aggression, which is overly simplistic.
I wished Dadzie further recognized the sexual violence that enslaved men experienced. She writes, "Biology alone spared [enslaved men] … the ever-present threat of rape. There were undoubtably exceptions, particularly where prospective ‘studs’ or attractive young boys were concerned, but it is fair to assume that a majority of men on the plantation escaped the trauma of casual and repeated sexual abuse from all comers" (104-5). Although the ways in which enslavers subjected enslaved men and women to sexual violence differ, and Dadzie's research is on women rather than men, it is worth acknowledging how and why this violence differed along gendered lines.
-Well-written and well-researched
-Focuses on enslaved women in the Caribbean. As Dadzie notes, histories of Atlantic slavery understudy enslaved women, and as such her research is vitally important
At times it seems that Dadzie takes for granted the gender/sex binary. For example, on page 67 in reference to the fact that Jamaica was "prone to revolt," she writes: “Early Jamaican planters…are known to have expressed a preference for male slaves. Over 70 per cent of slave imports are thought to have been male prior to 1700, providing a perfect crucible for tempers fueled by testosterone and the frustrations of stolen liberty." The explanation that men were more likely to revolt because of testosterone reinforces cultural myths about T as increasing aggression, which is overly simplistic.
I wished Dadzie further recognized the sexual violence that enslaved men experienced. She writes, "Biology alone spared [enslaved men] … the ever-present threat of rape. There were undoubtably exceptions, particularly where prospective ‘studs’ or attractive young boys were concerned, but it is fair to assume that a majority of men on the plantation escaped the trauma of casual and repeated sexual abuse from all comers" (104-5). Although the ways in which enslavers subjected enslaved men and women to sexual violence differ, and Dadzie's research is on women rather than men, it is worth acknowledging how and why this violence differed along gendered lines.
July 12, 2022
3.5 - rounded up. I wish this book had been much longer, however, I thoroughly enjoyed Dadzie’s writing style and would definitely read her future works. The length may be due to the subject matter and the fact that a lot of the information about women, particularly enslaved African women and their resistance, was simply not recorded (or not recorded well). I cannot and do not fault Dadzie for that. However, she mentions several important female figures and their accomplishments rather briefly. There are further readings in the Notes section, which I greatly appreciate, but it would have been nice if she had gone into more detail.
I highly recommend the book talk Dadzie did with The People’s Forum. It’s wonderful hearing her speak further on her work. It’s on YouTube!
I highly recommend the book talk Dadzie did with The People’s Forum. It’s wonderful hearing her speak further on her work. It’s on YouTube!
March 25, 2024
A brutal but necessary read that illuminates the experience of enslaved women in the West Indies. In telling their stories, Dadzie gives historical evidence of their capture and transportation; their work experiences and punishments; their autonomy, resistence, and resilience; and their cultural stewardship. Most of what I know about slavery centers around the U.S. told from a male perspective. I was amazed at the data that exists to tell the history and importance of the female enslaved. It's also worth noting that Dadzie does not end with this history but she also highlights present day female oppression in Africa.
July 15, 2025
I really enjoyed reading this, especially as a descendant of the overseers and slavers in the Caribbean. I think that the perspective of Black women are often missing from the historical records. I think it's really important for us to understand the ways that people resisted slavery. People weren't docile and this idea that many folks have that the enslaved were totally chill with their enslavement...just isn't true and more books should try to address this as well as this book did.
November 5, 2020
Excellent way to share stories that are not often enough told. I highly recommend delving into the notes of this book and reading some of the reference, since this book is short and relies heavily on the reader checking out the notes. This book was eye opening for me and I suspect it would be for most people.
June 14, 2021
I didn't actually finish this book. I wanted to like it but there were too many issues with it. The first issue was to suggest that some slave women willingly had sexual relations with white men. Secondly mentioning Wikipedia as a source for more information in regards to the book. And then to suggest that women slaves tried to get the attention of white men.
January 24, 2023
Appreciated the focus on enslaved African women’s experiences. This concise book covers their stories from being kidnapped and transported across the ocean, to their forced working lives, and their effort have some agency with pregnancy and their children.
August 18, 2024
I've got nothing intelligent to say about this, it was very well-researched and insightful. It was interesting to read a nonfiction book about slavery that focused explicitly on slavery in the Caribbean.
October 31, 2020
Absolutely incredible. Educated me on an area of history I had been completely ignorant of.
February 20, 2021
A great insight into the horrifying time of slavery.
July 15, 2021
Fantastic book but it was too short !!
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