Jaw Sickness

Jaw-sickness (mal de mâchoire) was a condition in which newborns could not open their jaws or swallow, and it was attributed by colonial observers to the deliberate actions of Black midwives as a form of resistance — denying enslavers new captives. Whether the condition was indeed intentional, a naturally occurring illness like neonatal tetanus, or a colonial projection of fear onto Black women's reproductive knowledge remains uncertain. C.L.R. James used it in The Black Jacobins as one of the most chilling examples of hidden resistance under slavery.