THE 1831 JAMAICAN REVOLTThis was the last and most massive slave rebellion in Jamaica. Between ' 5

partial or general insurrectionsn

It was called the Baptist War ~ecause critics wanted to blame the.

rebellion on the missionaries. The revolt occurred in the

here were 12

was a strong missionary presence. This convinced the planters that the missionaries were involved.

The revolt began on. Hi Becember 1'

Pressure.--•••. 2. Effects of the abolition of the slave trade on the labour force. In 1808 Jamaica had 348,000

enslaved per ple, but by 1824 they had 311,000. By the time of the slave revolt the-work force

had experienced a decline in size and effectiveness especially in the first gang. By 1831,\J0.h\DlVl

enslaved females 1)-@a~rto outnumber enslaved males and the planters began to demand more

work particular from men.

3. Dissatisfaction of the mulatto creoles. The work situation began to bother the mulattos. By

1831 they were being denied some privileges and had jo do manual labour on the plantation.

4. The failure of the~ Jamaican slave holding class to implement the amelioration proposal. The

system remained the same. Consequently, the level of discontent among the enslaved people

remained high because there was no improvement in the system.

5. In 1830 in Jamaica the Assembly granted equal rights to free coloureds and blacks with whites.

The enslaved people knew about the grants and had expectations that they too would be given

something te.Q-. This further disillusioned them when after one year they got nothing ..~ .-

. 6. The effect of the work of Christian missionaries on the enslaved people. The rebellion was led

by enslaved people who were Christianized. In Jamaica there were Baptist,. Wesleyan!

.• Methodists, Moravian and Presbyterian missionaries. The Christianized enslaved people had

several grievances. The leader of the rebellion, Samuel Sharpe, outlined the rights of the

enslaved people rooted in Christian Theology. These included: Christian brotherhood, equality

of all men before God, the Christian doctrine of freedom of the sons of God and no man can

serve two masters. They saw these as totally incompatible with slavery. They felt the

missionaries t{/:{i- their allies and they used the church to plan the rebellion without being

discovered.

7. Misinterpretation of the reaction of the planters to the new phase of the anti-slavery movement.

By 1830 the anti-slavery society felt that it was hopeless for the Amelioration proposal to work

,_ ••••nnn" •." thQ nn'lrpmmp.nt to abolish slavery. News of this reached Jamaica and

-master's newsp.apers that emancipation was very near. He spread the word among his fellow

enslaved people.

Leaders of the Revolt

fl Samuel 'Daddy' .Sharpe or Sai ,} Sharpe was the main leader of the rebellion. He was a

domestic and a Baptist Deacon.

It Johnson from Retrieve Plantati on

(. Campbell, ajoiner at York Pl mtation:

11 Robert Gardner, the head w agon man at Greenwich Plantation

IJI Thomas Dove from Belve- iere Plantation who was literate

«I George Taylor

• Susan of Stracy Plantaron

s Charlotte of Moor P: .rk Plantation

• Kitty Scarlet

Reasons for Fallu.e

1. etween the different rebel groups. There was no coordinated overall

plan. The ic ea was to have a massive strike, but this didn't come off as planned as some rebels

wanted arm ed resistance.

2. The use of tl'1e The enslaved people faced the troops in open warfare when

guerilla warfare should have been used.

3. The ____-'--_~.-c- ""-!=~ __~==:O' The militia fired rockets into the villages of the

enslaved./]h

4. Limited involvement of the sla- ed . ..We revolt was only •.••..•~~=-=:..-bI~~~~~

colony. The enslaved people ;,n the other Provinces hardly joined. It was a Ioea ized rebellion

and even in this case all the enslaved people, 'especially Moravians and Presbyterians did not

j0111.

5. 1 reEe s. The rebels only responded to violence, They did not

initiate it. This was beeruse of their Christian teaching in which they learnt that life was easy

to take but hard to give. As such they were reluctant to figh. The whites however, were

ruthless in their fighti ng.

6. The Maroons were called upon to honour their agreement with

the government in which they promised to assist ill tracking and hunting rebel armies.

7. Ciibaa toracking dQJ s were also used to find the rebels.

8.

Willoughby Cotton, commander of the troops. Most of the enslaved people gave themselves

up.

f' , I. n flnHlllt I'

3. -lE5llilSJ;!!!!l~~~~~~ls. About 300 ersons were executed with more than half of them court

martial. ost blacks were hanged and maybe a third was shot. Some were deported us

convicts to Canada and some were decapitated and their heads displayed on poles. Many were

flogged, receiving between 10 to 500 lashes. Four women were hanged including Kitty.

4. .SSlOnanes, particularly the Baptist and Methodist missionaries. The---- .-

Baptist could no longer work among the enslaved people. They were forced to flee the island

and return to England, for e.g., William Knibb, a Baptist preacher. These returning

missionaries campaigned agai nst slavery in England. Two of the leading missionaries,

Berchell and Gardner were tried. Many Baptist and Methodist Chapels were burnt, in excess.' .

of twenty. This was carried out by the Anglican Reverend Bridges of the Colonial Church

Union.

5. It was as a result of the work of the rmssionanes who fled the island that the British

Government was finally convinc ed (0 abolish slavery. The Government came to the

conclusion that slavery could not be rehabilitated and that if it continued it would result in

more resistance.