Other acts are more serious, including the rape of women and children. And, in one case, they kill of one of the young females. (pg. 134) All of these actions lead the Allmuseri to go against their natural non-violent beliefs and resist the oppression of the crew.
One can see that the Allmuseri had no initial intention of harming anyone on the ship. When Calhoun asks if they would harm any of the crew if they gained control of the Republic, Ngonyama replies "What is the point in that? Once home, we would return their boat to them." (pg. 119) But, after all that happens to the Allmuseri, they slowly but surely did away with their non-violent attitude. Calhoun seems to be the only one who realizes the effect that the crew's treatment was having on the Allmuseri. He says:.
Stupidly, I had seen their lives and culture as timeless product, as a finished thing when the truth was that they were process and Heraclitean change Ngonyama and maybe all the Africans, I realized, were not wholly Allmuseri anymore. We had changed them No longer Africans, yet not Americans either. Then what? And what were they now capable of? (pgs. 124-125).
Along with this general observation, Calhoun notices a look in Ngonyama's face as he returned the key that something grave was about to happen. This is the last time the slaves are in the subservient position.
When the Allmuseri take control of the ship, everything changes. The most evident change is the physical shape of the ship and its inhabitants. As Calhoun describes it, "the ship was damned near beyond repair, a shadow of her former self, her days of greatness gone a vessel you couldn't give away." (pg. 155) To make matters worse, everyone on the Republic had some sort of affliction. Vile diseases, such as plague and scarlet fever ran rampant. Many members had limbs amputated, that being the only way to remedy their illnesses. Despite all these afflictions, there were positive aspects to the reign of the slaves.
