Final answer:
The appearance of submissiveness and cooperation of slaves to keep their masters 'off balance,' and thereby receive 'breathing space to chart their next secret move of resistance for freedom' is known as papa lévisé. Enslaved people often used the notion of paternalism to their advantage, finding opportunities within this system to engage in acts of resistance and win a degree of freedom and autonomy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The appearance of submissiveness and cooperation of slaves to keep their masters 'off balance,' and thereby receive 'breathing space to chart their next secret move of resistance for freedom' is known as papa lévisé.
Enslaved people often used the notion of paternalism to their advantage, finding opportunities within this system to engage in acts of resistance and win a degree of freedom and autonomy. For example, some played into their enslavers' racism by hiding their intelligence and feigning childishness and ignorance. The enslaved could then slow down the workday and sabotage the system in small ways by 'accidentally' breaking tools, for example; the slaveholder, seeing the enslaved as unsophisticated and childlike, would believe these incidents were accidents rather than rebellions.
Some enslaved individuals engaged in more dramatic forms of resistance, such as poisoning their captors slowly. Other enslaved people reported their fellow captives to their slaveholders, hoping to gain preferential treatment. Those who informed their holders about planned slave rebellions could often expect the slaveholder's gratitude and, perhaps, more lenient treatment. Such expectations were always tempered by the individual personality and caprice of the slaveholder.