They were those with seemingly the least incentive to rebel because they enjoyed the most perquisites and avoided the whipping customarily dealt out to field hands. The National Hero was among the more than 500 slaves who lost their lives for participating in Jamaica’s first organized industrial action, commonly referred to as the ‘Christmas Strike of 1831’ and ‘The Sam Sharpe Rebellion’. Jpeg, PNG or GIF accepted, 1MB maximum. Sam Sharpe, born in the parish of St. James, and named after his master, is also a folk figure. Ideas journalism with a head and a heart. The story of the Jamaican revolution suggests that methods of calculated revolutionary action transcend historical periods. [4], Led by 'native' Baptist preacher, Samuel Sharpe, enslaved black workers demanded more freedom and a working wage of "half the going wage rate"; they took an oath to stay away from work until their demands were met by the plantation owners. As a traveling church deacon, he had access to the newspapers brought by cargo ships and had read about the abolitionist sentiment in Britain. The Christmas Rebellion of 1831 was the last big fight against slavery in Jamaica. The rebellion, after failing, had succeeded. Groups of white colonials destroyed chapels that housed black congregations. Slavery was against God’s law and the King’s will. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our privacy and cookie policy. Because of his intelligence and leadership qualities, Sam Sharpe became a “daddy”, or leader of the native Baptists in Montego Bay. This simple tactic of resistance anticipated the philosophy of Mohandas Gandhi by 70 years. [13], The rebellion was quickly suppressed by British forces. No paywall. Punishment for slaves in the 1830/1831 Slave Rebellion in Jamaica led by the National Hero Samuel Sharpe. What Does War Look Like in the Cyber Age? Within 18 months, William IV gave his reluctant royal assent to the Slave Emancipation Act of 1833. Sharpe also used operational tactics—including small cells and safe houses—that would become de rigeur. The uprising was led by a black Baptist deacon, Samuel Sharpe and waged largely by his followers. The Christmas Rebellion, also known as the Baptist War and the Christmas Uprising, was a slave rebellion led by Samuel Sharpe in Jamaica which started on Christmas Day in 1831. [9], On December 31, the colonial authorities instituted martial law. This may have reflected a higher level of absenteeism among white Baptist missionaries. Include your name and daytime phone number, and a link to the article you’re responding to. A plan of passive resistance was developed in order to force the hands of the planters. Jamaica’s enslaved population was among the most abused and powerless on the globe in 1831. They also thought that the King's men would enforce the order and discontent escalated among slaves when the Jamaican governor announced that no emancipation had been granted. “The whole surrounding country was completely illuminated, and presented a terrible appearance, even at noon-day,” marveled a white militiaman. The enslaved people of Jamaica were some of the most abused and powerless people on the globe in 1831. Yet even in this isolated atmosphere of extreme deprivation, they developed durable strategies for a politically successful revolution. The Baptist War, also known as the Sam Sharpe Rebellion, the Christmas Rebellion, the Christmas Uprising and the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831–32, was an eleven-day rebellion that started on 25 December 1831 and involved up to 60,000 of the 300,000 slaves in Jamaica. They Need Communities. [6], It became the largest slave uprising in the British West Indies, mobilizing as many as 60,000 of Jamaica's 300,000 slaves. The Christmas Rebellion (1831–2) This uprising in Jamaica was the largest in the Caribbean in terms of the number of enslaved people involved, illustrating that slavery could not be sustained in Jamaica. He would appear at certain homes unexpectedly, a step ahead of the state police. (Optional) Attach an image to your letter. [18], Historians argue that the brutality of the Jamaican plantocracy during the revolt accelerated the British political process of emancipating the slaves. [4], After the rebellion, property damage was estimated in the Jamaican Assembly summary report in March 1832 at £1,154,589 (equaling roughly £52,000,000 in modern terms). “The Christmas Uprising” in Jamaica was a groundbreaking action and a model; its enslaved leaders anticipated the methods of later revolutionary movements—from the Irish Republican Army to Gandhi’s struggle against the British, from the French underground fight against the Nazis to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. With a few months, more than 60,000 enslaved people had heard about the effort, through well-wired plantation networks. The value of elite support is an enduring lesson of revolution. Up to 1830 slaves had been allowed three days off work, but in 1831 this was reduced to two days. To mention the fledgling enterprise in the presence of a white master was a ticket to torture and likely death by hanging, so everyone took precautions to swear new recruits to secrecy. Many of the Baptist ministry expected that he would return with papers for emancipation from the king, William IV. The rebellion was brutally crushed, but over time, the rebellion had a significant impact - and two years later in … He is known for his pivotal role in the 1831 Christmas Rebellion on the Kensington Estate a rebellion credited as instrumental to full emancipation in 1838. But the revolutionary methods of “the business” had been victorious against the most powerful government in the world, and more than 800,000 people were set free as a result. As Christmas Day, 1831, fell on a Sunday, the traditional day of rest, Sharpe argued that slaves should have the following Tuesday off work. It was considered the largest slave rebellion in the British Caribbean. In this, they anticipated another commonplace practice of 20th-century resistance movements: to maintain an armed underground sector operating beneath the political wing. “The slaves must be sooner or later set at freedom,” editorialized the Morning Advertiser in London, “whether it be or whether it be not for their benefit, and the sooner that proper steps are taken for this purpose, so much the better.”. We take a look at the uprising, as described in The Gazette. Most people in England also wanted to end it and slavery was abolished in 1834. Sharpe was hanged on May 23, 1832 for his role in the rebellion. Samuel Sharpe, or Sharp (1804 – 23 May 1832), also known as Sam Sharpe, was an enslaved Jamaican man who was the leader of the widespread 1832 Baptist War slave rebellion (also known as the Christmas Rebellion) in Jamaica. Popularly called the Christmas Uprising- due to the time of year it occurred, the Sam Sharpe Rebellion- named after the main instigator of the 1831 revolt, the Baptist War- they were thought to be the one who influenced the Africans into starting the revolt ;or rather simply the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831-32 Samuel Sharpe, or Sharp (1804 – 23 May 1832), also known as Sam Sharpe, was an enslaved Jamaican who was the leader of the widespread 1831-2 Baptist War slave rebellion (also known as the Christmas Rebellion) in Jamaica. The Palestinian Liberation Organization and Ireland’s Sinn Fein are the most well-known examples of this “arrows and olive branch” approach. [17], As a result of the Baptist War, hundreds of slaves ran away into the Cockpit Country in order to avoid being forced back into slavery. In Jamaica, Sharpe, while insisting on nonviolent methods, also knew he needed a military wing. There was a rumour among slaves in Jamaica that stated that British government’s abolition decrees were being ignored or undermined by the planters and the local government. Just as Gandhi knew that British abuses would not last forever under the scrutiny of outside public opinion, Sharpe was also aware of a larger world that might sympathize with his cause. "The Jamaican Slave Rebellion of 1831". National Hero and leader of the 1831 Christmas Rebellion, Rt. They constantly lived on the edge of hunger and harsh punishment. [12], When the Windward Maroons from Charles Town, Jamaica and Moore Town answered the call of Cotton, the rebel cause was lost. [8], Grignon led the militia against the rebels at Belvedere estate, but he was forced to retreat, leaving the rebels in command of the rural areas of the parish of St James. Yet the “elites” were also best positioned to recruit followers because they were trusted both by laborers on their watch and by white guardians of the sugar estates. Sharpe also cultivated the enslaved “elite.” The Jamaican colonial government was surprised when it learned that the revolt’s leaders were among the most privileged of the island’s enslaved population: head drivers, head boilers, butlers, and traveling deacons like Sharpe. Sharpe and his congregation decided that after Christmas day, 1831, they would cease to work as slaves. The Christmas Rebellion of 1831. [7] Thousands of rebels had set fire to more than 100 properties, destroying over 40 sugar works and the houses of nearly 100 planters. The 1831 Christmas Rebellion, also called the Baptist War or Sam Sharpe’s Rebellion, was a nine day confrontation between the enslaved black population of Western Jamaica and white colonialist powers, as well as a turning point in the development of Jamaican society. The Jamaican revolution also employed a simple idealism—its leaders understood that, if oppressed people were going to risk their lives, they must be given a vision of a higher purpose that could be phrased in simple terms. The Maroons were only successful in apprehending a small number of these runaway slaves. Sharpe himself told his interrogators he had always been treated kindly by his master and never beaten. French Resistance operatives in World War II famously kept themselves in small clusters to avoid mass arrest, and recruited only one or two people at a time, using a case officer who did not know the central command. Then, on the night of December 27, 1831, “the business” opened. [4][1] During the rebellion, fourteen whites were killed by armed slave battalions and 207 rebels were killed. Sharpe’s development of safe houses was also ahead of its time. [5] Sharpe was the inspiration for the rebellion, and was nicknamed "Daddy" Sharpe. In 1831 a huge slave rebellion broke out, led by the Baptist preacher Samuel Sharpe. The chief conspirator of “the business,” an enslaved Baptist deacon named Samuel Sharpe, had insisted the protest would be a peaceful sit-down strike. Adolphe Duperly print: A View of Montego Bay, this print shows slaves destroying sections of Montego Bay during the 1831 slave rebellion. Sharpe’s pro-liberty message was both simple and electric. After the war, communist insurgents used a similar strategy. Vladimir Lenin was no peasant; he grew up in a middle-class household in Ulyanovsk, attended Kazan University and surrounded himself with fellow educated radicals. No ads. This effectively ended slavery in the island. Great African Slave Revolt of Guamacaro, Matanzas, Slaves and Missionaries: The Disintegration of Jamaican Slave Society, 1787–1834, "An End to Slavery – 1816–1836: Jamaica Reluctantly Makes History by Freeing its Slaves", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baptist_War&oldid=975845472, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. By: Cerone White. Whether Samuel Sharpe approved of it or not, the first blaze was followed almost immediately by a chain of fires lit on neighboring plantations that turned the night sky a dazzling orange and told the entire northwestern side of the island that “the business” was coming to pass at last. It became the largest slave uprising in the British West Indies,lasting 10 days and mobilized as many as 60,000 of Jamaica's 300,000 slave population. Wakeman Trust, London. The 1831 rebellion … Along with scripture, Sharpe (one of the few enslaved people on the island who was literate) let his followers in on a secret: The British people across the ocean were agitating to free the enslaved, and the King of England had signed a general “free paper” that was being kept under wraps by the Jamaican sugar barons. Heuman, Gad: "A Tale of Two Jamaican Rebellions," in: Short, K.R.M. The rebellion’s end would not be a lasting defeat. Sam Sharpe: Jamaica's National Hero - Glasshouse Middle East Sharpe, an educated slave who fought for freedom of slaves was born in Jamaica in 1801 in the parish of St. James and grew up in Montego Bay. Samuel Sharpe, a Baptist deacon, was credited as the leader of the 1831 Christmas Rebellion in the western section of the island; which acted as a catalyst for the passage of the Abolition Bill in 1833. These eastern Maroons killed and captured a number of other rebels, including another leader named Gillespie. Mary Reckord. “The Christmas Uprising” in Jamaica was a groundbreaking action and a model; its enslaved leaders anticipated the methods of later revolutionary movements—from the Irish Republican Army to Gandhi’s struggle against the British, from the French underground fight against the Nazis to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. The weeklong Christmas Rebellion, which began on Kensington Estate on December 27, 1831, and engulfed much of the Montego Bay region, was the most serious slave revolt to rock colonial Jamaica. Within 18 months of the first fire, slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. This he did, but he also appointed cell leaders who appointed their own small groups. Excellent Samuel Sharpe, was honoured on May 23, at a floral tribute and ceremony, held in the square named in his honour in Montego Bay. Anxiety, Defiance, and Refuge in Immigrant Los Angeles. [11], The Accompong Maroons soon gained the upper hand however, and they defeated the rebels in one skirmish, killing one of Sharpe's deputies, Campbell, in the assault. The Baptist War, also known as the Sam Sharpe Rebellion, the Christmas Rebellion, the Christmas Uprising and the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831–32, was an eleven-day rebellion that started on 25 December 1831 and involved up to 60,000 of the 300,000 slaves in Jamaica. [10] Sir Willoughby Cotton, who commanded the British forces, then summoned the Jamaican Maroons of Accompong Town to help suppress the rebellion in the second week of January. Much of the British public was already disgusted by slavery—the price of maintaining it seemed to be endless wars overseas—and after the Jamaica rebellion, political pressure built. [16], The planters suspected many missionaries of having encouraged the rebellion. In 1918, Mary Turner’s Brutal Murder Changed the Politics of Lynching in America. Sharpe did the first secret swearings, but from then on, his own “case officers” did the work of exponential recruitment. But enslaved people in 1830s Jamaica had already figured it out. We may edit your letter for length and clarity and publish it on our site. In January, they even built and staffed an impressive hilltop fortress, designed to repel incursions, called Greenwich Hill, and fought several engagements with British troops. : "Jamaican Christian Missions and the Great Slave Rebellion of 1831–2," in: This page was last edited on 30 August 2020, at 18:33. Although Samuel Sharpe did not originally mean to promote violence and property destruction, the rebellion progressed that way anyway. [7], The rebellion exploded on December 27, when slaves set fire to Kensington estate, in the hills above Montego Bay. Sam Sharpe led the 1831 Christmas Rebellion in Jamaica, which broke the back of chattel slavery in Jamaica and eventually led to the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of slaves in Jamaica and the wider Western Hemisphere. White Jamaica found itself contending with its biggest insurrection ever. Few had ever seen anything but their owner’s plantation. Book by Robin Blackburn p. 432. Sam Sharpe “I would rather die upon yonder gallows, than live in slavery.” Inspirational words from an enslaved man, a Baptist deacon, a freedom fighter and the main instigator of the 1831 Slave Rebellion in Jamaica which was instrumental in bringing about the … Two of those present—Thomas Dove and Robert Gardiner—would become the fiercest fighters against the white volunteer militia once the strike had moved into a less peaceful phase. Many runaways remained free and at large when the British parliament passed the Act abolishing slavery in 1833. American colonial resistance to British rule was backed by Boston’s richest men. The most critical piece of information of the early uprising, however, could not have been more visible: the first signal fire lit at Kensington Estate on the night of December 27, 1831. The Arts Don’t Need New Audiences. His military commanders were mainly literate slaves, like him, and they included Johnson, a carpenter called Campbell from York estate, a waggoner from Greenwich estate named Robert Gardner, Thomas Dove from Belvedere estate, John Tharp from Hazlelymph estate, and George Taylor, who, like Sharpe, was a deacon in Burchell's chapel. After the rebellion, an estimated 310 to 340 slaves were killed through "various forms of judicial executions". The missionary-educated rebels had been following progress of the abolitionist movement in London; their intention was to call a peaceful general strike. The plan was to simply refuse to work on the second rest day after Christmas unless masters agreed to pay striking workers half the daily wages that a free person would get for chopping sugar cane. Is Empathy the 20th Century’s Most Powerful Invention? Their only weapons were machetes and rocks. At planning meetings in fall 1831, several of Sharpe’s lieutenants agitated for a backup plan in case the strike should fail. However, when the Accompong Maroons attacked the rebels at Catadupa, they were forced to withdraw because the rebels were "too strong". What Gandhi would call satyagraha, or “truth power,” forced authorities to confront and defend a central injustice, and perhaps open their own eyes to a moral blind spot. A planter on the north shore once heard a critical piece of news from Kingston before the mail arrived and surmised there must have been “some unknown mode of conveying intelligence.”. Sharpe, a Baptist preacher, was literate, a strong speaker… This messianic vision of liberty, accessible to everyone, was not dissimilar to the collectivist ideals touted 40 years later by the Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin, who exulted, “In Moscow from a sea of blood and flame the constellation of the revolution will rise, high and beautiful, and will become the guiding star for the good of all liberated mankind.” Martin Luther King, Jr., an admirer of Gandhi, also advanced a message of Christian love and justice that cut across racial lines, was easy to communicate, and proved difficult to refute. [15] An 1853 account by Henry Bleby described how the courts commonly executed three or four persons simultaneously; bodies were piled up until the black people relegated to the workhouse carted the bodies away at night and buried them in mass graves outside town. Painting by Adolphe Duperly depicting the Roehampton Estate in St. James, Jamaica, being destroyed by fire during the uprising. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. When Burchell and Knibb described how badly they were treated by the colonial militias, the House of Commons expressed their outrage that white planters could have tarred and feathered white missionaries. Emancipation Rebellion: Lessons from Jamaica's Sam Sharpe War of 1831! They constantly lived on the edge of hunger and harsh punishment. Samuel Sharpe used the New Testament, visiting slave villages to preach verses considered too provocative by white missionaries, in particular those that emphasized freedom in Christ. Please tell us your thoughts. “He put a number of questions to us and then gave us a briefing about what he had been doing outside the country and then discussed the tasks that lay ahead,” recalled one man who met Mandela secretly at a house in Durban in 1962. The relative independence of Black deacons facilitated slaves taking greater ownership over their religious life, including reinterpretations of Baptist theology in terms of their experience (for example, they placed an emphasis on the role of John the Baptist, sometimes at the expense of Jesus. Most were illiterate. Barry W. Higman, "Slave Populations of the British Caribbean, 1807–1834", The overthrow of colonial slavery, 1776–1848 Why We’re Still Reckoning With Japanese American Internment. The Black Regiment, a group ... 32 Reckord, “The Jamaica Slave Rebellion of 1831,” 124-125. He was hanged on May 23, 1832. In these elite houses, Sharpe preached about the “business.” His top-level recruits used these houses for the most sensitive meetings, stockpiled weapons in them, and even created their own military-style uniforms: blue jackets with red sashes. by Tom Zoellner | Samuel Sharpe became a Jamaican national hero as he led the island's slaves in a rebellion against the overseers and sugar plantation owners. Few had ever seen anything but their owner’s plantation. When the army regulars were besieged by the rebels at Maroon Town, the Accompong Maroons relieved them, killing more rebels, and capturing scores of them, including another of Sharpe's deputies, Dehany. His Christian beliefs were of the pacifist kind and he repeatedly told his followers not to harm anyone. Indeed, the extremely low reported death toll among whites in the uprising—just 14, when up to 500 rebels were killed or executed—speaks to the tremendous restraint and forbearance among those who had every reason to want revenge.
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