WESTERN EUROPE
PUBLICATIONS
European Holidays and Travel Abroad, Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (US$5).
Around the World Resource Guide, Patricia Smither. Access for Disabled American Pub lishing (US$20).
Wheelchair Around the World, Patrick D. Simpson. Ivy House Publishing Group (US$25).
MINORITY TRAVELERS
In general, minority travelers will find a high level of tolerance in large cities; the small towns and the countryside are more unpredictable. Travelers with darker skin may face regional intolerance, though most minority travelers, especially those of African or Asian descent, will usually meet with more curiosity than hos tility. Anti-Semitism is still a problem in many countries and anti-Muslim senti ment has increased in many places; travelers of Arab ethnicity may be treated suspiciously. Sad to say, it is generally best to be discreet about your religion. Skinheads are on the rise in Europe, and minority travelers, especially Jews and blacks, should regard them with caution. Still, attitudes will vary from country to country and town to town; travelers should use common sense consult Safety and Security (16) for tips on how to avoid unwanted attention.
Escape Next to low-level resistance, running away was the most common form of slave rebelliousness. Netherlands Map Tourist Attractions This struck a blow against the slave regime, but it also took the even bolder step of elevating the rebel to freedom. The decision to run away was usually a carefully calculated one. Some fugitives took to the main roads, pretending to be free blacks, slaves on legitimate errands, or (in the case of extremely light-skinned blacks) white travelers. The majority, however, were forced to take more arduous paths through the wilderness, where they fought hunger, exposure, and slave catchers.
Most were caught or returned voluntarily within less than two weeks. Young men made up the largest number of fugitives, but women, families, and even entire plantation communities sometimes escaped as well. In all cases, the flight to freedom was a cooperative effort, as slave communities and free blacks (and some sympathetic whites as well) provided fugitives with food, supplies, and hiding places along the way. The destination of fugitives varied over time and place. Although slavery was legal in all thirteen colonies and fleeing to the North was no guarantee of freedom, many fugitives nevertheless headed for Boston, New Bedford, and other Northern cities that were known for protecting runaways. Other urban areas were favored as well, since fugitives could blend in with their large free black populations. Some fugitives headed for Florida, where Spanish officials had promised freedom to any runaway who converted to Catholicism and aided them against the English.
