Maroon communities provided hope and refuge for enslaved people seeking freedom, while the lack of successful slave revolts made it difficult for enslaved people to believe in the possibility of a successful uprising until the wealthy white males of property provided inspiration.
Maroon communities provided a place of refuge for slaves who had escaped and were looking for ways to evade their pursuers. Large, successful slave revolts were rare and far between, but there were notable rebellions such as Tacke's War in Jamaica and the Dutch colony of Berbis before the French Revolution.
The brutal consequences of slave rebellions in Jamaica and Barbados resulted in the absence of successful slave revolts for slaves to look up to as inspiration. This absence of hope made it worse for slaves, especially after the American and French Revolutions spread the intellectual idea of freedom and equality.