The ability of slaves to carve out prerogatives for themselves, while a real and important aspect of the slave experience, ought not to be exaggerated. Despite the fact that space sometimes existed for negotiating some of the terms of servitude, the power of masters could be arbitrary, capricious, and ultimately abusive and degrading. Slaves were sometimes punished for imagined offenses and could suffer terrible consequences for indiscretions perceived or real. They could be whipped, manacled, confined in horrifying physical conditions, and deprived of contact with loved ones. Wives, daughters, mothers, lovers could be sexually abused by masters or their sons, and there was little recourse for slaves to act or protest without risking the worst consequences. In the end, slaves had little power over the most basic elements of their lives and were subject to the absolute and total control of their owners and the governmental powers that stood behind the slaveholding class. Desperation at the inability to determine the most basic aspects of existence often led to varied forms of resistance to servitude and sometimes spontaneous or organized rebellions and conspiracies to achieve freedom.

Resistance was ongoing and fundamental to the slave experience in Brazil, Cuba, and the United States. The most common form was simply to run away – individually, with family members, or with co-conspirators. This was a common occurrence, although men were overwhelmingly the great majority of slaves who ran away.