Slave resistance

1. First and foremost is the basic desire for freedom. They rebelled against
their owners- they did not want to be owned and treated as if they were a mere piece of
property.
2. Abuse of the masters. Women in particular were raped, denied the right and time to
bond with their children, name their children and so on.

A female slave tied to a tree

3. Severe Punishments that did not fit the crime, but was far greater than the crime or
offence. Methods of punishments included branding, of course whipping, putting them in
stocks or amputating a limb.

Slave punishment

A slave being beaten

4. Forced labour: The ex-slaves worked without wages or reward for their labour. This was
made even more difficult to bear when they considered that the planters were able to live in
great houses, eat well and wear fine clothes because of the profit from the sugar that the
slaves grew!
5. Denial of Rights. The slaves were denied the most basic human rights. African slaves
were not allowed to keep the name that they received at birth but were forced to take on the
name that their master gave them. They were forbidden to marry without the master's
permission.
6. African slaves wanted to return home. They longed for their familiar sights and
scenes of Mama Africa. They missed parents and siblings and friends back home. Some of
them were leaders in their homeland and found it more difficult to adjust to a life of
bondage: for example, Tacky was a chief in Ghana .
7. Inhumane treatment: slaves rebelled against and resisted the inhumane conditions
under which they were forced to live and work. They worked from sunrise to sunset
everyday and as much as eighteen (18) hours per day at harvest time. House slaves had to
obey the whims and fancies' of the master. Spiteful mistresses often gave the attractive
house slave girls demeaning' tasks to do. They were underfed and overworked.

There were two main types of Resistance: Passive and Active.

Passive resistance may be defined as the subtle methods used by the slaves to express their
rejection of slavery. It is not easily detected.
Types of Passive Resistance
(a) Suicide: the African slaves in particular believed that after death their spirit returned to
Africa. They were therefore willing to obtain the ultimate irreversible freedom.
(b) Malingering: we know this as go slow'. The slaves would deliberately work slower or
below their productive capacity.
(c) Ill-treatment of estate animals: the slaves would deliberately wound the estate
animal with intent to harm or kill them. It would cost the planter a pretty penny' to
replace these animals.
(d) Murder by poison: arsenic was probably the most common form of poisoning but the
slaves also used potions' that they obtained from the obeah men as well as their own
concoction from trees and shrubs.
For example, in 1774, an overseer on a Barbadian plantation was murdered (poisoned) by
his slaves.

(e) Feign madness: a slave would pretend to completely misunderstand every order given
to him or her. In essence he would pretend to be stupid' or insane. We refer to this as the
Quashie' syndrome. Some planters would keep such a slave for entertainment purposes.
(f) Feigning illness: the slaves would sometimes feign illness, prolong an old illness or
even inflict fresh injuries.
(g) Runaways: running away or pulling foot' was a fairly common means of resistance.

What particular ways did female slaves rebel?

They prolonged the weaning process-taking up to two years, so that she could make
full advantage of the one hour in the morning and the one hour release given before
the end of the day by some planters for breast feeding activities.

Painful though the exercise was some women opted to deliberately miscarry or
commit infanticide.

Her tongue she discovered was also a very effective weapon. Thus insolence was a
common charge or offence that the slave woman was incessantly charged for and
found guilty!

Active Resistance: Revolts

The Bush Negroes

Runaway slaves in Surinam were called the Bush Negroes of Surinam'. The Bush Negroes of
Surinam were given this specific title because of their choice of base when they ran away
from the plantations. They hid in the tangled forest and swampy interior of the forest.
The first runaways escaped from the plantations set up by Lord Willoughby, the Governor of
Barbados (1651). This explains why the Bush Negroes spoke Creole and all black surnames
had an English base. Many of the runaway slaves were brought from Africa and when they
escaped to their hiding places, they maintained their African culture and religion.

Bush Negroes

However, during the Second Anglo-Dutch war, (1665-1667), the territory was captured by
the Dutch. Dutch ownership was made official by theTreaty of Breda in 1667. During these
two years of warfare the slaves took the opportunity to escape to the mountains, where they
established independent communities/settlements.
The Bush Negroes lived in the forest clearings with their houses, (circular huts), surrounded
by groves of plantations and cash crops from their small farms. These villages were often
barricaded with moats, (deep holes filled with water), pits and stockades, which they used
for protection. They also organized raids on the European plantations on military lines.
Eventually, the Dutch reorganized the independence of the Bush Negroes in the interior on
the condition that they would not raid the coastal plantations. Treaties were signed between
the Dutch and the Bush Negroes in 1749, 1761, and 1767.

There were six Bush Negro groups:

Djuka, Saramaka, Alubu, Ouca, Matawai, and Paramaka.
They lived inland along Saramaka, Copenaime and Cottica and Marowjine regions.

Terms of the Treaty (1761)

An annual gift of arms and ammunition was promised to the Bush Negroes in return
for their co-operation.

The Bush Negroes were to return all new runaway slaves that they encountered.

The Negroes promised never to appear armed at Paramaribo to more than or six at a
time.

The Bush Negroes were to keep their settlements at a certain distance from the
towns and plantations.

Slave Control
Slavery was a legal institution. All the colonies passed laws to control their slaves.
The Spanish instituted the Siete Partidas, the French had the Code Noir but the English
Government left it to the individual Assemblies to enact their own laws as they thought best.

Siete Partidas

Code Noir

You may imagine that at the same time it seemed like a marvelous idea. Why?
It saved England the trouble' and time of writing these laws that might not even be fit for
the colonies. In the same vein, she felt it best that the planters through their representatives
in the House of Assembly construct these laws since they lived in the colonies. The truth was
that at the time she was more concerned or shall we say engrossed in the increase in the
revenues that she received from the jewels in her Crown'.
The British Caribbean had strong Assemblies with a lot of power invested in them from
England. Most if not all the members of the Lower House were sugar planters. They all had
the same attitude towards their slaves and basically agreed on how these slaves should be
treated.
France chose to draw up a slave code because, unlike the English, the French colonies
never had a plantocracy which was fully in control as it was in the British colonies. Until 1785
there were no French Local Assemblies. Therefore, all laws and policies were decided in
France and carried out by the Governor or the Intendant and the many officials on the
islands. Slaves worked on coffee as well the British viewed their slaves as chattel property
and as such, they could be sold, transferred to another estate or used to pay debts. Slave

marriage and manumission therefore, were not encouraged. The Spanish, on the other hand,
considered the slaves to be human beings-albeit lesser human beings! They acknowledge
that slavery was wrong, but argued that it was a necessary evil.
The Spanish felt that they had a Christian duty towards the slaves. This was reflected in the
slave laws themselves and account for the main differences between the Spanish slave laws
(Siete Partidas) and the British Slave Laws. For example, Spanish slaves had rights-they
could not be starved, overworked or unlawfully punished. The law guaranteed them right of
entry to the Roman Catholic Church as well as time for religious instructions. They could also
marry without their owners' permission and were allowed to have a family. One must note
however that many of these laws were just on paper.

Both the British and the French planters tried to control the economic life of their slaves in
terms of property, time and earnings.
- Slaves who stole animals would be put to death.
- Slaves could not legally possess property or legally make contracts.
- Slaves could not be paid for any work that they did.
- As personal property slaves could be sold in debt or left on the will for someone to inherit.
- Slaves could not own land, they were allowed a small plot to plant ground provisions on so
as to save the planter money that would have been used to import food.

Psychological/Ideological Control
The whites argued that the Africans were barbaric and uncivilized heathens. They were
doing them a favour by exposing them to European civilization and Christianity. Most of the
psychological control surrounded the slaves' race and colour which was seen as inferior to
the whites.
The planters tried to crush the slaves' spirit, but this was not always easy.
The Ashanti and Mandingo slaves, for example, were known to be fierce and resistant

A fight with the Ashanti

They were stripped of their identity, especially the African born slaves who were forced to
take the name given to them by their owner. They were stripped of their dignity- made to
feel less than a human.
Men were not allowed to have any ego. When placed in leadership positions it was of such
that the slaves that they were in charge of hated them and saw them as traitors, for
example: Slave Drivers.

Social Control
How did the planters control the slaves in the areas of food, clothing, housing and
dress?
They dictated what they should eat and when they should eat. Although they built their own
huts, they were directed to build one room, one window, one door, and huts with dirt floorsignifying and emphasizing their inferiority.
Slaves were not allowed to be educated. Ignorance was a powerful means of control.
Their dress was inferior, of poor quality, lacking in style and of course inadequate. It is said
that children went naked until about age six. The adults were given two suits of clothing per
year. The domestic slaves were often given hand-me-down clothing which they were
expected to relish.

Physical Control

The slaves' every movement was watched by the owners. The overseers, drivers and watchmen had a
vital role to play in this form of control.
Punishment was the biggest form of control. The whip was a stimulus to labour and a
constant form of punishment. For fear of the hundreds of lashes the slaves kept in line' and
did basically as they were told. The slaves could not move off the estate without a pass.
They worked for fourteen hours a day under strict and constant supervision.

Cultural Control
The slaves were not allowed to practice their own religion. Instead, they were forced to
acknowledge their owner's religion. They were only allowed to sit at the back of the
Anglican/Catholic Churches. Certain aspects of their culture such as their music and dance
were seen as vulgar, lewd and uncivilized behaviour. The planters openly scoffed at them.
Other aspects such as drumming were banned on penalty of severe punishment, even
death. The planters in colonies with Maroons settlements in particular would have either
known or heard of the effectiveness of the bend and drums as instruments of
communication in a revolt.
Despite all of these various methods of control, the slaves resisted the system of slavery.
The period of slavery in the Indies is punctuated with acts of resistance as well as bloody
violent revolts.

Haitian Revolution
The Origin
The origin of the Haitian Revolution can ironically be traced to the Revolution that started in
their Mother Country France in 1789. In that year, the French people rallied and motivated
by the watchwords of Liberty, fraternity and Equality decided to begin the process that
would radically change the political and social order of France.
This revolution appealed to the Grand Blancs of San Domingue as the colony was named
before the revolution. They decided that it was an opportune time to demand more political
power from the newly elected Constituent Assembly in France. The Constituent Assembly
denied them their requests.
In an unprecedented move, they called elections in 1790 for a General Assembly and
excluded the small/poor whites (Petit Blancs) and colored from participating. Needless to say
this would mean that they, the White colonists (Grand Blancs) would win' the election.

Having gained control of the Assembly the Grand Blancs proceeded to defy colonial
authorities and the Constituent Assembly in France. To signify their revolutionary status they
wore a red tassel and became known as the pompons rogues.
The poor/small whites and colonial authorities/militia combined to crush the Grand Blancs'
revolt and dissolved their Assembly.
It was while, they, the whites, both great and small' were pre-occupied with their
diplomatic' war that the free coloureds decided to use the opportunity to stage their own
revolt and the rest is still history.
The coloureds were able to get the support of the "Amis de Noirs" or Friends of the Blacks.
Led by Vincent Oge, who had declared himself the protector of the coloureds, they staged
their own revolt. Their numbers were too small however, and Oge eventually gave up and
was tortured and executed.

Vincent Oge

The conflict between the whites and the coloureds gave the slaves a chance to fight for their
own freedom. The rebellion started in the most prosperous and densely populated area, in
the northern part of Haiti.
Why did these groups revolt?
The Grand Blancs or rich whites, most of whom were planters, wanted to get rid of
the Mercantile System. Please note that Haiti produced one third of the sugar reaching the
world market. They wanted greater freedom of trade than the concessions granted to them
in 1784. Since France was in a state of revolution herself, they thought it was a good time to
do so.
There was much discrimination against the free coloureds. The Petit Blancs or poor whites
were jealous of the free coloureds many of whom had inherited property from their white
fathers and had gone into coffee cultivation, sugar being viewed as the exclusive domain' of
the Grand Blancs.
As a result many restrictions were placed on these free coloureds. They could NOT

be called Monsieur or Madame

Carry arms or be promoted to any top ranking position in the army.

Marry any white person, not even a poor one!

vote or of course hold any political position

Attend the same theatres or plays as the whites. If they chose to attend the same
Church, they could not sit in the same area or seat with a white person

The slaves revolted for pretty much the same reason as their counterparts in the British
West Indies.
Each group on the French island felt the other to be its enemy. The planters hated the
officials, despised the poor whites, and distrusted the growing class of the coloureds and
poor whites who wanted the privileges of the planters.

Course
The slave rebellion was initiated by a voodoo ceremony on the night of August 14, 1791. It
was led by a slave known only as Boukman. By dawn the rebellion was in full swing, within
a week fields and buildings had been set ablaze. The white and colored masters were slain.

Voodoo ceremony before the revolt

The rebellion was exceptional and it forced the whites and the coloureds to join together to
fight against their common enemy. This agreement was called The Concordat. It was
intended to keep the mulattoes/free coloureds in their place'. They did not want them to
ever get the impression that they were equal to them merely because they had a bit of
wealth.
In 1792, a remarkable slave by the name of Toussaint L'Overture assumes leadership of the
Haitian revolution. Between 1792- 1803 in the colony of Saint Domingue erupted into the
civil war. In response, French reinforcements were sent in May of 1792, they too found
themselves in conflict with the coloureds. The new Commissioner sent from France, General
LeClerc attempted to capture Toussaint. Toussaint formed an alliance with the Spanish and
gained black control over the entire north of Saint Domingue, except Le Cap.

A picture of Boukman, taken from Toussaint L'Overture

www.ulrickjeanpierre.com/boukinv.htm

The war now came to involve three European nations:

1. France who was desperately trying to regain this precious colony back
2. England who wanted to get Haiti for herself
3. Spain, who owned the next door' (literally) colony of Santo Domingo and was justifiably
afraid that the revolution would spread to her colonies and that her slaves would be tempted
to either start a revolution or jump next door to freedom.
In order to gain the needed support of the free coloureds, the Assembly in France gave them
most of the rights and privileges that they were fighting for. They gladly took it, but by then
most of them had defected to the slaves' side.
While the war continued, Toussaint who was successful in defeating all three groups by a
policy of alliance and counter alliances decided that it was time to move to another level.

Toussaints' Reforms
In 1801 he conquered Santo Domingo.
He created a central assembly to make laws.
He banned slavery and discrimination based on colour.
He proclaimed himself Governor for life.
Napoleon sent an army led by Le Clerc to defeat Toussaint and Toussaint undertook a
"scorched earth" policy against Le Clerc.
He instituted the fermage system. It was a labour system designed to continue the
production of the colony's exports crops which had been disrupted due to the war.
In a bid to encourage this production and export, he decreased the taxes and custom duties.
He made treaties with foreign Governments.
He built roads, schools and other public buildings.
In 1802 while locked in a life long struggle with Le Clerc, peace was negotiated by Cristophe
but Toussaint was captured by trickery and taken to France.
In 1803 on the twenty-seventh (27th) day of April, Toussaint died of cold and hunger in Jiora
Mountain prison.

Jean Francois Dessalines

After the capture of Toussaint, Dessalines took over leadership of the revolution. Dessalines
however, did not maintain Toussaint's policy to revive sugar or to militarize labour. On
January 1, 1804 Dessalines declared that the colony was independent and was to be called
Haiti the Tainos word for mountainous.
He declared himself Emperor of Haiti.

Jean Francois Dessalines

From 1804-1806 Dessalines brought a large percentage of Haiti's land under state rule. He
tried to revive agriculture and kept daily tallies of the amount of work by labourers and idlers
were punished. He encouraged stable family life and Catholicism, but discouraged Voodoo.
Dessalines' rule ended with his assassination in 1806.

Why was this Revolution successful?

(i) Good leadership. Toussaint provided skilled military leadership. He was ably assisted by
Jean Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe.
(ii) The rebels had the advantage. They knew the area better than the invaders. They were
familiar with both the territory and climate.
(iii) France was preoccupied with her own revolution 1789-1815. She herself was going
through different stages. At one point her leaders agreed with and tried to reinstate Slavery.
At another time, her new leaders, the radicals who disagreed with Slavery sent decrees to
abolish it. (1794)

(iv) The troops sent from France to reinforce the local militia lost a number of their men
within a few days. They died from tropical diseases such as yellow fever.
(v) The division and rivalry between the Grand Blancs and the Petit Blancs gave the blacks
time to gather and plan their strategies.
(vi) The whites, engrossed in their own struggle were taken by surprise. Some fled the
country leaving their property behind. Many of these became bases of operation and
headquarters for the rebel groups.
(vii) The slaves, unlike the whites, were determined to fight to the end, even if it meant
death. After all, they had little to lose in a society where they were seen and treated just a
little better than animals.
(viii) The slaves were united by the strong bond of religion. They believed that they were
indeed invincible and that the victory was theirs!

Effects of Haitian Revolution

Haiti
The slaves were freed and they declared their independence.
The traditional social hierarchical structure based on colour was totally and permanently
dismantled.
The Haitian constitution allowed Africans, Indians, and their descendants to settle in Haiti.
Haiti soon became a place of refuge for the enslaved of the Caribbean.
The destruction of the economy of Haiti through war had removed a major competitor in the
sugar and coffee markets.
Because the revolution occurred at the time when Abolition had just begun in the Caribbean,
the revolution may have helped to slow down the abolition process.
Many humanitarians who supported abolition became fearful.
Independent Haiti was being used by the advocates of slave labour in the Caribbean, to
prove that the Caribbean plantations needed to continue to use slave labour as best source
labour.
The monopoly that the whites had on land ownership was broken. Land could now be
bought, owned and controlled by all groups in society. The mulattoes and whites sought
refuge in the Leeward Islands. Because of the revolution Haiti traded with other independent
countries, specifically the United States.

The Wider Caribbean

1. In both Martinique and Guadeloupe, there was a rapidly expanding group of free colored
who were not only prosperous but did not experience much of the legal discrimination
enforced against counterparts in Saint Domingue.
2. Because the revolution occurred at the time when Abolition was in the air in the
Caribbean, the revolution may have helped to slow down the abolition process as a number
of humanitarians who supported abolition became fearful.
3. The planters were fearful that the slaves would be influenced. They increased security on
their plantations.
4. In 1795 there was an outbreak of trouble among the Maroons of Trelawny Town of
Jamaica. The Governor: Earl of Balcarres was quite sure that St. Domingue had influenced
them. It was felt that, the Haitian Revolution was giving Jamaica's blacks and mulattoes
confidence to oppose the planters. They therefore pleaded with Britain to send more troops
to defend the island.
5. Slaves from neighbouring colonies were escaping in canoes to Haiti where they would be
free.
6. The destruction of Saint Domingue coffee industry also opened the door to increased
coffee production in the Caribbean, for example, coffee production also increased in Jamaica.

Revolts
1763 Berbice
Berbice was a Dutch colony on the South American mainland. From 1733-1762 there were
several small slave uprisings but a major one occurred the following year in 1763.

Causes
The main motive was to gain their freedom but others were:

Resentment at the ill-treatment by the managers or overseers.

Lack of provisions- Berbice Association economized on the imports of foodstuffs, the

planters provided little or no provision grounds and this led slaves being
malnourished.

The rebellion started on February 23, 1763 on plantation Magdalenbery on the Canje River
and soon spread to the estates of Berbice. The slaves outnumbered the planters by eleven
to one so this enabled them to control the province for over a year. Within two weeks other
rebels joined the revolt. They moved from one plantation to the other murdering some
whites, imprisoning others and driving away refugees.

March 1763: Kof nominates himself as Governor of Berbice and elects Accra as second in
command. Troops numbering one hundred arrived. They were sent to some many areas that
they in turn were outnumbered.
April 1763: the troops obtained the help of the native Indians. They attacked the Canje
rebels, some were killed while others escaped within an inch of their lives. These continued
to attack plantation for food, arms and supplies.
July 1763: Some of the troops from Surinam mutinied. They were discouraged by the
difficulty of locating the rebels in the dense forest.
July-November: The Indians continued to fight the rebels Meanwhile the Governor of BerbiceVan Hoogenheim was playing a game of "delay and conquer" with the leader of the rebellion
Kofi (Cuffee).

Kofi employing diplomatic tactics had written to Hoogenheim asking him to officially
recognize the division of Berbice-with the blacks occupying the interiors. Hoogenheim said
he would send letters of request to Holland for the king there to decide. What he was really
doing was to stall' Kofi until reinforcement from Europe arrived.
His tactics worked even better than he could have hoped. Kofi's decision to wait on and trust
the Governor resulted in disunity among his followers. Some believed in Kofi's diplomatic
way, others believed that it was a trick and wanted to continue fighting. The rebel group
then split into two. Atta became a second Governor.
During the struggle between Kofi and Atta many of Kofi's supporters were killed. Kofi unable
to bear the burden of defeat, committed suicide (shot himself). Accra- his second in
command was captured by Atta, but he later escaped and offered to hunt and disclose the
rebels hiding place in exchange for his freedom. He managed to capture Atta and from
there, the rebels began to scatter. (January 1764) November 1763: European troops arrived.
More arrived December. (600)

Results
The rebellion was largely unsuccessful. It did not secure the freedom of the slaves or the
rebels. Half of the slave population was killed and more than half of the white population
was either killed or fled the country in fear of losing their lives.

1816 Revolt
Why did this revolt occur?
The activities of Non-Conformist missionaries or free coloureds such as Washington Franklin,
Cain Davis, JR. Sergeant; slaves such as Bussa, Roach, Jackey, Ranger, Mingo contributed to
the formation of the revolt.

Bussa

These people preached ideas of freedom, equality and brotherhood but also urged the slaves
to refrain from violence and to wait for freedom to come from England. The work and
encouragement from missionaries like Wesleyan Methodists, Baptists, and London
Missionary Society along with the people mentioned above also served as a form of
motivation.
A Registry Bill was suggested for all British colonies by abolitionist James Stephen in 1812.
This required all slaves to be registered. This would help to identify slaves being illegally
shipped into the colonies. Their births, deaths, accidents, runaways and recaptures would be
recorded each year. It would therefore be illegal to have an unregistered slave and as a
result the planter/owner would be punished by a fine or other means. In 1815, the British
Government asked all Colonial Assemblies to pass a Registration Act. The whites thought of
this as an unnecessary interference and would not agree to even vote on the bill.
Slaves learnt about the registered schemes though pamphlets from the Anti-slavery society
arriving in the Caribbean as well as local newspapers carrying reports of antislavery
meetings and debates in Parliament. Those who could, read local as well as English papers
such as Bridgetown Gazette and Barbados Mercury passed on information to those who
could not.
News was picked up in various places such as markets. Domestic slaves heard their masters
grumbling about the new schemes for ending slavery. The slaves thought that the
Registration Bill was notice from England for their freedom, which was talked of by the Nonconformist missionaries. They learnt of the rejection of the bill by the planters and believed
that they were restricting the freedom, which the British government intended them to have.
The slaves were tired of being ill-treated and wanted freedom. Some thought of Barbados as
a "Black man's land". They thought that only black people had a right to live there.

The Course of the Barbados Revolt (1816)

The aforementioned causes led to the careful planning and organization of this revolt
that was the frst in Barbados in one hundred and twenty four years. This rebellion
therefore represented an attempt by the slaves to influence the structure and conditions of
the society in which they lived. As a result the actual planning begun after the House of
Assembly refused to conform to the Imperial Bill in 1815. Certain slaves such as: Bussa,
Roach, Jackey, Range and Mingo who lived on various estates in Barbados led this rebellion.
But there was an important group of committed rebels throughout the southern and central
parishes.
The slaves chose April 14, which was a Friday, because it was a holiday during Easter. Many
slaves who were involved in the planning with Bussa on the Bayleys Estate began destroying
property belonging to the planter and burning canefields but the first major battle between
the militia and the rebels took place on Lowthers plantation at noon on Easter Monday. The
determined rebels armed with muskets and pitchforks fought bravely against the militia.

Slave uprising

News of the revolt spread through parishes such as Christchurch, St. Thomas; St John, St.
George, St Michael, therefore encouraging other slaves to join in the fight. Approximately
sixty estate buildings and canefields were demolished at the hands of local slaves with the
aid of fire. More than half of the island was engulfed by the insurrection. It is reasonable to

argue that the revolt lasted for four days since both the fire and the fight had ceased by
Wednesday.

Burning Canefileds

Unfortunately the revolt was crushed by troops of militia and regulars led by Colonel Edward
Codd. These men showed no mercy, even though the slaves showed no violence towards
them, they rounded up the protestors and quickly ended the chaos by punishing all those
involved.

The Results of the Barbados Revolt 1816

1. Unfortunately, one hundred and seventy six (176) slaves died during the rebellion,
including its leader, Bussa. Two hundred and fourteen other slaves were executed afterwards
including Franklin, another leader of the rebellion.
2. The whites turned against the Baptist Missionaries, who they blamed for inciting their
members and threatened them to expel them from the island. They also proceeded to
damage the London Missionary Society's chapel belonging to Shrewsbury.
In fear of his own life, the Baptist Missionary William Shrewsbury was forced to leave
Barbados and take refuge in St. Vincent.
3. The slaves destroyed one fifth of the sugar crop during the rebellion along with sixty
estate buildings. Damage estimated at someone and half million pounds. (1 m)
4. Approximately one hundred slaves (100) were deported to British Honduras but local
officials refused to allow them on shore so they were taken to Sierra Leone.
5. The revolt contributed to the abolition of slavery in 1834 by the British Parliament. It was
used by the supporters of Abolition to strengthen their case. They highlighted the negative
effects of slavery particularly on the whites. Humanitarians concentrated their arguments on

the mortality rate of the rebellion. They feared an even worse bloodbath' if the slaves were
not freed in the near future.
6. The colonial authorities increased security in the colony while planters increased security
on the estates. A chain link of signal stations were erected along the Barbadian coastline.
Martial law remained in force for the next eighty-nine days.
7. For their loyalty to the whites, the free coloureds were given an extension of their civil
liberties in 1817, the year following the rebellion. For example, they were allowed to testify
in courts against whites.

1831 Jamaica
The Sam Sharpe Rebellion:
Causes of the Rebellion
There are several reasons for the 1831 revolt in Jamaica. One of the main reasons given for
the revolt was that the enslaved was led to believe that emancipation was being withheld. In
Jamaica reports spread among the slaves that their "free paper" had come from England but
their masters were holding them in bondage. It was obvious that the slaves knew roughly
what was going on, but they did not know the precise details.
Another cause was the activities of the Non-Conformist Missionaries. It was felt that the
teachings and preaching of these religious sects, especially the called Baptists, Wesleyan
/Methodists and Moravians had the effect of producing in the minds of the slaves a belief
that they could not serve both spiritual and temporal masters. St. Matthew 6:24 St. John
8: 36, I Corinthians 7:23, Galatians 3:28
The third and most immediate cause was the flogging of a female slave in the northern part
of Jamaica. Her husband was forced to watch the brutal flogging. He struck the whipper. The
overseer then ordered him to be arrested, but the other slaves refused. This began the chain
of actions.

Flogging of a slave
Another cause was the influence of Sam Sharpe, a slave in Montego Bay who was able to
urge the slaves to stop working on the plantations by spreading "watch words" called
freedom. He could read and write. From his master's newspaper he learnt that emancipation
was very near and that wage and labour would come to Jamaica. He spread the news among
the slaves. Under the guise of religious group meetings in St. James, he organized a general
strike during the Christmas week of 1831.
Christmas day in the year of 1831 came on a Saturday. This meant that the slaves had two
consecutive days off from work. They were expected to resume working on Monday
December 27, 1831.
The Christmas holidays provided an excellent opportunity for the slaves to move around
between estates and meet under the cover of traditional celebration or religious service led
by Sam Sharpe a Deacon in the Baptist church.

Sam Sharpe

Course
On Monday December 27, 1831 instead of reporting to work at sunrise with the blowing of
conch shells, the slaves island-wide went on a strike! It was to develop however into a
bloody rebellion. The Great House and sugar works on Kensington Estate in St. James were
the first to be set on fire; soon it spread to the neighbouring parishes such as Hanover,
Trelawney, Westmoreland, and St. Elizabeth. In all nine out of the twenty two parishes,
three hundred (300) estates were and approximately sixty thousand (60,000) rebel slaves
were involved.
Sharpe had hoped to negotiate a wage settlement with the authorities. The headman on
each estate was not only supposed to maintain the strike but also prevent violence. The
slaves were already "carrying grievance" from two previous incidents.
Thursday December 15, 1831.
Attorney/overseer Grignon ordered a woman from Salt Spring Estate to be flogged for
stealing sugar cane. Her husband objects: waving his machete at the overseer. Grignon goes
to Montego Bay and orders two policemen to arrest the husband. The slaves on the estate
become hostile and force the policemen to leave.

December 23, 1831

Slaves on the York Estate in Trelawney were discontented with the overseer. The whites
attempted to burn the Methodist Minister Rev. Henry Bleby alive, in Falmouth after
smearing him with tar! The St. James Militia burnt Salters Hill Chapel.
Governor Lord Belmore proclaimed martial law. The leader of the militia General
Willoughby Cotton brought the revolt under control. But it took him two months to do so
because the slaves used their famous guerilla tactics. The slaves fled to their hiding
places in the forested areas and mountainous Cockpits, where they ambushed the red
coats', who were in hot pursuit. With the help of the Maroons the local militia burnt huts and
provision grounds. By January 1, 1832 reinforcements came from Britain to join the fight that
continued well into the month of February.

Results / effects
1. The revolt helped to speed up the slow process of emancipation. In the summer of 1832
the Baptists missionaries Reverend William Knibb and Reverend Thomas Burchell gave
evidence to the committee which the House of Commons (England) had set up to consider
emancipation as soon as possible.
2. Knibb and Burchell gave the process a further boost. Their stories of the brutality used
against the slaves were bad enough. Their accounts of the persecution of the white
missionaries in the infamous colony enraged English opinions even more. The public
demanded immediate emancipation.
3. For the first time the missionary societies publicly joined with the abolitionists in calling
for an immediate end to slavery.
4. The Colonial Church Union was formed in Jamaica in 1832 supposedly to protect the
Anglican Church - the Planters' Church. Its main objective, however, was the defense of
slavery, the persecution of the non-conformist missionaries and the destruction of their
places of worship. There was the riotous destruction of Baptist and Wesleyan Chapels in St.
Ann, Trelawney, Hanover and in other parishes.
5. In April 1832, a local newspaper: The Watchman published an article calling for an end
to slavery. It urged all Humanitarians to bind together to ensure this. The editor, a coloured
man named Edward Jordan was subsequently arrested and charged with sedition and
treason. He spent six months in prison. After this a number of free coloureds openly sided
with the Abolition Movement.
6. Damage done to sugar works and homes were estimated at two hundred thousand
pounds (200, 000). One hundred and forty five estates were burnt.
1.

Sam Sharpe was hung in Montego Bay Square. His immortal words served to inspire
the slaves he left behind... "I'd rather die on yonder gallows than live in
slavery".

The Maroons of Jamaica

On May 10, 1655, Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables began their
attack of Jamaica. The island was poorly defended. The Governor, Juan Ramirez was old and
sick. Only five hundred (500) men could handle a gun. The English, on the other hand had
had an army of eight thousand (8000), this included two thousand (2000) armed men, a
stunning ratio of sixteen to one (16:1) in favour of the English.

Admiral William Penn

In desperation, the Spanish freed their slaves to help them fight. In return they were
promised their freedom. In alliance with the Spaniards some of them formed settlements in
the mountainous region of the Cockpits. Others in the face of defeat decided to escape to
parishes such as Trelawney, Portland and St. Elizabeth where they formed independent

settlements. The Spanish surrendered in 1660 after Juan De Bolasdefected to the English.
In 1670 by the Treaty of Madrid the island of Jamaica was officially ceded to England.

Why were the English and Maroon engaged in warfare against each other?
At first the English refused to recognize the escaped slaves (maroons) as free people.
Instead, they enlisted the help of turncoats' such as Juan De Bolas to help them recapture
the Maroons.
Anxious to become as wealthy as their Barbadian counterparts, they had begun to seriously
operate sugar estates. They needed to constantly import slaves to work on these estates.
As long as the Maroons were at large', so to speak, they would be a source of inspiration for
these slaves. This proved to be so true. During the seventy six years of irregular warfare
between the English and the Maroons, many slaves ran away from their estates and joined
the Maroons who gladly welcomed and provided a safe haven for them.
In the early years just after the English had captured Jamaica, the island was ruled by
Commissioners. In 1663, one of these Commissioners, offered the Maroons land and full
freedom if they surrendered. The Maroons thought about this.
The Maroons decided therefore that they needed something in print- in black and
white' before they would even consider surrendering! They needed legal recognition of the
land and the freedom that the English offered' them. For the next seventy-six years,
therefore, they fought the English to give them this legal document.

Course of War
There were sudden and constant attacks on the plantations. The Maroons would set fire to
the fields. The English in reply would also set fire to any Maroon settlement that they
happened to find. Making sure that their provision grounds: source of food was destroyed.
The Maroons managed to secure various weapons during their raids on the plantations.
These include: lances, machetes, and firearms.

Maroons

The Maroons raid sugar plantations taking away whatever useful supplies they could find.
This includes tools such as machetes as well as food supply such as small livestock (fowl,
pigs, etc.)
The Maroons gladly accepted any runaway slave especially the males who became a part of
their army. Troops from Britain were sent to aid the local militia. This was not very successful
as they unaccustomed to the climate, the long marches in difficult terrain and the Maroons'
peculiar methods of fighting.

A fighting Maroon

The Maroons perfected the art of guerilla warfare. They would cover themselves in bushes
and leaves from head to toe. Then they would hide themselves (camouflage) among the
trees. From this vantage point they set ambush for their enemies.
In addition the Maroons employed a lookout. He or she would be placed at a strategic spot.
This person was responsible for alerting the others when the enemy was approaching with
the use of an abeng, conch shell or drum.
The English employed Mosquito Indians famous for their ability to track down fugitives. In
addition they used dogs to ensure that they could detect the Maroon hideouts which were so
cleverly concealed.
1734 Captain Stoddart launches a successful attack against Nanny Town. Using swivel guns
and explosives he demolishes the settlement. Some villagers in their haste to escape
jumped over a nearby cliff to their death.