10 shocking facts about slavery that everyone should know

Many slaves led uprisings, slavery was not an option for them

Numerous slaves fought their oppressors and refused to idly accept being essentially imprisoned for the rest of their lives. Such examples are Sam Sharpe, who used religious meetings as a way to spread the need for revolt.

Then there is Breffu, the Ghanaian slave brought to Jamaica who empowered 150 slaves to rebel against their masters in the West Indies.

The Bussa rebellion was recorded as largest slave revolt on the island of Barbados.

We cannot forget Queen Nanny, an Ashanti woman transported to Jamaica as a slave. She later assisted 1,000 slaves in escaping from their masters and led the Maroons, a rebel group of slaves who established a community in the mountains and jungles of Jamaica.

In a brave and rebellious act of opposing slavery, Igbo slaves jumped off ships on the U.S. coast ending their lives rather than succumbing to any more inhumane treatment.