The word contingency is best defined as an unforeseen event or circumstance, something that cannot be predicted for sure. In simpler terms, nothing is 100 percent certain, which can be proven through the numerous times that “may” and “might” were written throughout the book. When events occur, whether they are planned or not, everything happens for a reason, and everything has a cause and effect.
Throughout the book Cry Liberty, Peter Charles Hoffer provided specific examples of encounters between slaves and White South Carolinians, which strengthened his claim that contingency played an important role during the Stono River slave uprising. Hoffer revealed the revolt through his perspective, by recounting events that took place around “the …show more content…
The slaves went into the store to take what they thought they deserved, and ended up encountering men that they had not suspected. Once the violence occurred, they rebelled to avoid being killed.
Once this initial encounter occurs, a chain reaction begins. We do not know for certain what exactly happened in the store (81). Although we do know that by the end of the night, “the two whites were slain” (81). Without this initial killing, “there would have been no general uprising” (83-84). If any event could be labeled as a turning point, it would be “Gibb’s and Bathurst’s deaths” (83). After this occurred, events began to go downwards.
The numerous examples of hypothetical theories prove contingency’s momentous role in the outcome of history. The slaves might have acted differently if they had known about the two men, or if they had not assumed that the men would bring consequences. The killing of the two men is viewed as a turning point, without these examples it would be unclear as to how the Stono River slave uprising served as the beginning to a change in relationships between slaves and White South
Throughout the book Cry Liberty, Peter Charles Hoffer provided specific examples of encounters between slaves and White South Carolinians, which strengthened his claim that contingency played an important role during the Stono River slave uprising. Hoffer revealed the revolt through his perspective, by recounting events that took place around “the …show more content…
The slaves went into the store to take what they thought they deserved, and ended up encountering men that they had not suspected. Once the violence occurred, they rebelled to avoid being killed.
Once this initial encounter occurs, a chain reaction begins. We do not know for certain what exactly happened in the store (81). Although we do know that by the end of the night, “the two whites were slain” (81). Without this initial killing, “there would have been no general uprising” (83-84). If any event could be labeled as a turning point, it would be “Gibb’s and Bathurst’s deaths” (83). After this occurred, events began to go downwards.
The numerous examples of hypothetical theories prove contingency’s momentous role in the outcome of history. The slaves might have acted differently if they had known about the two men, or if they had not assumed that the men would bring consequences. The killing of the two men is viewed as a turning point, without these examples it would be unclear as to how the Stono River slave uprising served as the beginning to a change in relationships between slaves and White South