The Morant Bay Rebellion (11 October 1865) began with a protest march to the courthouse by hundreds of people led by preacher Paul Bogle in Morant Bay, Jamaica. Some were armed with sticks and stones. After seven men were shot and killed by the volunteer militia, the protesters attacked and burned the courthouse and nearby buildings. Twenty-five people died. Over the next two days, poor

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

rose in rebellion across most of St. Thomas-in-the-East parish. The Jamaicans were protesting against injustice and widespread poverty. Most freedmen were prevented from voting by high

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

es, and their living conditions had worsened following crop damage by floods,

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

and

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemics, and a long drought. A few days before the march, when police tried to arrest a man for disrupting a trial, a fight broke out against them by spectators. Officials then issued a warrant for the arrest of preacher Bogle, who had called for reforms, and was charged with inciting to riot.

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand's New Munster province, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in ...

declared

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

in the area, ordering in troops to hunt down the rebels. They killed many black individuals with an initial death toll of more than 400. Troops arrested more than 300 persons, including Bogle. Many of these were also innocent but were quickly tried and executed under martial law; both men and women were punished by whipping and long sentences. This was the most severe suppression of unrest in the history of the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...

. The governor had George William Gordon, a mixed-race representative of the parish in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

, arrested in Kingston and brought back to Morant Bay, where he tried the politician under martial law. Gordon was quickly convicted and executed. The violent suppression and numerous executions generated a fierce debate in England, with some protesting about the unconstitutional actions of the governor John Eyre, and others praising him for his response to a crisis. The rebellion and its suppression remain controversial, and it is frequently discussed by specialists in black and colonial studies.

Background

Slavery in Jamaica was abolished on 1 August 1834 with the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act. The act also stipulated that all formerly enslaved persons in Jamaica over the age of six would work as

apprentices Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

for a period of four to six years for their former enslavers, though British abolitionists protested against the apprenticeship system and it was fully abolished by 1 August 1838. This date marked the start of Jamaicans formerly in the apprenticeship system being allowed to choose their employer and profession; though they also gained the

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in ...

, most Jamaicans could not afford to pay the

required to participate in Jamaica's political system. The poll tax was introduced by the colonial government to disfranchise the majority of emancipated Jamaicans, being fearful of causing an anti-colonial uprising (such as the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

) if they granted too much political power.

Tensions in the 1860s

During the election of 1864, fewer than 2,000 black Jamaican men were eligible to vote (no women could vote at the time) out of a total population of more than 436,000, in which blacks outnumbered whites by a ratio of 32:1. Prior to the rebellion, conditions in Jamaica had been worsening for poor blacks. In 1864 there were several floods that ruined many crops, while 1865 marked the end of a decade in which the island had been overwhelmed by plagues of

and

. A two-year

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

preceding 1865 made economic conditions worse for much of the population of survivors of slavery and their descendants. Several bankruptcies were declared in the sugar industry, causing a loss of jobs and widening the economic void. Tensions between white planters and black Jamaicans increased, and rumours began circulating among the freedmen that white planters intended to restore slavery. Gordon criticized Eyre's draconian punishments such as

flogging Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed ...

and the treadmill for crimes such as stealing food. He warned that "If we are to be governed by such a Governor much longer, the people will have to fly to arms and become self-governing." In 1865, Dr. Edward Underhill, Secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society of Great Britain, wrote a letter to the Colonial Office in London in order to describe Jamaica's poor state of affairs for the mass of people. This letter was later shown to Jamaica's Governor John Eyre, who immediately tried to deny the truth of its statements. Jamaica's poor black people learned of the letter and began organizing in "Underhill Meetings". Peasants in Saint Ann parish sent a petition to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

asking for

Crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

s to cultivate, saying they could not find land for themselves. The petition was sent to Eyre first, and he enclosed a letter with his own comments. The Queen's reply was made known, and many of the poor believed that Eyre had influenced her opinion: she encouraged the poor to work harder, rather than offering any help. Gordon, who was one of two representatives from the parish of St. Thomas-in-the-East, began encouraging the people in his parish to find ways to make their grievances known. One of his followers was a black

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

deacon named Paul Bogle. In August 1865 Bogle led a deputation of peasants from St. Thomas-in-the-East an 87 kilometer (55 mile) march to the capital,

Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

, hoping to meet with the governor, John Eyre to discuss issues. But the governor refused to receive them.

Rebellion and response

On 7 October 1865, a black man was put on trial in the Morant Bay courthouse, charged with trespassing on a long-abandoned sugar plantation. The poor black Jamaicans of the parish were angered by this additional example of land inequality, and marched on the courthouse under the leadership of Bogle. Although the march was peaceful, the proceedings were disrupted when James Geoghegon, a black spectator, angrily denounced the charges. In the police's attempts to seize him and remove him from the courthouse, a fight broke out between the police and other spectators. While pursuing Geoghegon, two policemen were beaten with sticks and stones thrown from the crowd. The trial continued and Geoghegon was convicted and imprisoned. The following Monday the court issued arrest warrants for several men for rioting, resisting arrest, and assaulting the police. Among those warrants was one issued directing the arrest of preacher Paul Bogle. The police were unable to arrest Bogle because of interference by his followers. A few days later on 11 October, Bogle, this time with hundreds of Jamaican peasant-labourers, again marched to Morant Bay. The marchers had taken oaths, to "cleave to the black and leave the white", a sign that they were preparing for insurrection, or so Gad Heuman argues, indicating that oath taking in African tradition was a way to bring the group together and prepare for war. When the group arrived at the courthouse in Morant Bay, they were met by local officials and a small and inexperienced volunteer

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, gathered from personnel from the plantations. The crowd began pelting the militia with rocks and sticks, and the militia opened fire on the protesters. This angered the crowd, who reacted violently, burning the court house and nearby buildings. More than 25 people were killed on both sides, before the militia retreated. For the next two days, the mass of rebellious black peasants took over the parish of St. Thomas-in-the-East. In response, Governor John Eyre sent government troops, under Brigadier-General Alexander Nelson, to hunt down the poorly armed rebels and bring Bogle back to Morant Bay for trial. The troops met with no organized resistance, but they killed blacks indiscriminately, most of whom had not been involved in either the riot at the courthouse or the later rebellion. Amongst the rebels shot or hanged with only perfunctory trial, or no trial at all, were seven women of colour – Letitia Geoghegan, Mary Ann Francis, Judy Edwards, Ellen Dawkins, Justina Taylor, Sarah Francis and Mary Ward. Heuman has described it as a reign of terror. The

Jamaican Maroons Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery in the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of Free black people in Jamaica, free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern Pari ...

of Moore Town, under the command of former Charles Town superintendent Alexander Fyfe, committed a number of atrocities and extrajudicial murders before they captured and arrested Bogle, and delivered him to the colonial authorities. Believing that the blacks could not have planned such events themselves (as he shared the widespread white assumption of the time that they were not capable of it), Governor John Eyre had representative George William Gordon arrested. The

mixed-race The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

Jamaican businessman and politician was wealthy and well-known; he was openly critical of the governor and his policies. Eyre believed that Gordon had been behind the rebellion. Despite having very little to do with it, Gordon was quickly convicted and executed. Though he was arrested in Kingston, where martial law had not been declared, Eyre had him transferred to Morant Bay, where he could be tried under

. The trial and execution of Gordon via martial law, following the excesses of suppressing the rebellion, added to the outrage felt by many in Britain. They felt there were serious constitutional issues by Eyre's bringing Gordon under martial law. They were concerned about whether British dependencies should be ruled under the government of law, or through military license. With a speedy trial, Gordon was convicted quickly and hanged on 23 October, just two days after his trial had begun. According to one soldier, "we slaughtered all before us ... man or woman or child". In the end, the soldiers killed 439 black Jamaicans directly, and they arrested 354 more (including Paul Bogle) who were later executed, many without proper trials. Bogle was executed "either the same evening he was tried or the next morning"."The Jamaica Prosecutions. Further Examinations of Colonel Nelson and Lieutenant Brand", ''The Illustrated Police News: Law-Courts and Weekly Record'' (London), 23 February 1867: 1. On 25 October, Bogle was hanged alongside 14 others, including his brother Moses. Other punishments included flogging of more than 600 men and women (including some pregnant women), and long prison sentences. The soldiers burned thousands of homes belonging to black Jamaicans without any justifiable reason, leaving families homeless throughout the parish. This was the most severe suppression of unrest in the history of the

, exceeding incidents during slavery years.

Aftermath

Consequences in Britain

When news of the Jamaican government's response to the rebellion broke in Britain, with hundreds killed and hundreds more arrested and being executed, it generated fierce debate. Public figures of different political affiliations lined up to support or oppose Governor Eyre's actions. Part of the controversy related to whether observers believed that blacks had planned the uprising on their own, or whether George William Gordon and possibly whites had led them. Opponents of Eyre established the Jamaica Committee in December 1865, which called for Eyre to be tried for

mass murder Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

. More radical members of the Committee wanted him tried for the murder of British subjects, such as George William Gordon, under the rule of law, stating that Eyre's actions taken under the aegis of martial law were illegal. The Committee leaders included the MPs John Bright, Charles Buxton, and Peter Taylor, as well as the scholars

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

, Thomas Henry Huxley, and Goldwin Smith. Other supporters included

T. H. Green Thomas Hill Green (7 April 183626 March 1882), known as T. H. Green, was an English philosopher, political Radicalism (historical), radical and Temperance movement, temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like ...

, Henry Fawcett, and

A. V. Dicey Albert Venn Dicey, (4 February 1835 – 7 April 1922) was a British Whig jurist and constitutional theorist. He is most widely known as the author of '' Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution'' (1885). The principles it expou ...

. The Eyre Defence Committee was formed in August 1866 to support Eyre during the imminent legal actions. Its leaders included MP Lord John Manners, as well as James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, scientist John Tyndall, and the authors

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

and

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

. Other supporters were

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

, Charles Kingsley, and

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

. The Jamaica Committee initially sought to have Eyre charged criminally with murder, but the

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

did not indict him. They then supported a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

against Eyre, '' Phillips v Eyre''; the plaintiff Alexander Phillips was a black gentleman who had been arrested similarly to George William Gordon. The suit was decided in Eyre's favour. The rebellion was used as a justification for more centralized control of Britain's empire.

In Jamaica

Eyre was replaced as governor by John Peter Grant who arrived in August 1866. Since the 1830s

free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...

, like Gordon, Edward Jordon, and Robert Osborn, had been elected to the Jamaican

in increasing numbers, and that alarmed the colonial authorities. In the wake of the Morant Bay Rebellion, Eyre, with the support of the Colonial Office, persuaded the Assembly to renounce its charter, thus ending two centuries of elected representation in the

Colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was Invasion of Jamaica (1655), captured by the The Protectorate, English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British Empire, British colon ...

. White planters were appointed by the governor. However, this move deprived the black majority of a voice in the colony's government, and it was condemned by Jordon and Osborn. Jamaica became a

Crown Colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...

, under direct rule from London.

Legacy

In 1969, Paul Bogle and George William Gordon were among several men who were named as Jamaican National Heroes, the highest honour in the nation.

The Rebellion in popular culture

Several Jamaicans in the first half of the 20th century wrote about the Rebellion: * H. G. de Lisser, long-time editor of the newspaper ''

The Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Western Hemisphere. Original ...

,'' wrote a novel entitled ''Revenge'' (1918). It is now out of print. * Roger Mais, best known for his 1954 Rastafarian novel '' Brother Man,'' wrote the play ''George William Gordon'', about the mixed-race politician who was tried under martial law and executed following the Rebellion, the play was first staged in 1938. * V. S. Reid devoted his novel '' New Day'' (1949) to commemorating the rebellion. Non-Jamaican authors have also treated the Morant Bay Rebellion. * It is the subject of chapter XI of the novel ''

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

'' (1989) by American

James A. Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations, set in particular geographic locales ...

. *It is also a setting for part of the novel ''James Miranda Barry'' (1999) by Patricia Duncker. (It was reissued in paperback as ''The Doctor: A Novel'' in 2002.) *The rebellion is also cited in the short story "L'alfier nero" (i.e. "The Black Bishop" in the game of

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

) by the Italian author Arrigo Boito, where it is mistaken for a slave rebellion. The rebellion has been featured in music as well.

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

artists

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

featured the title track "1865 (96° In The Shade)" on their second album in 1977; the song described the events of the Morant Bay rebellion from the point of view of Paul Bogle and George William Gordon:

You caught me on the loose, fighting to be free, now you show me a noose on a cotton tree, entertainment for you, martyrdom for me ... Some may suffer and some may burn, but I know that one day my people will learn, as sure as the sun shines, way up in the sky, today I stand here a victim – the truth is I'll never die.Mel Cooke, "Story of the song – Third World keeps '1865' current"
, ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 20 January 2008.

References

External links

– The Jamaica National Heritage Trust. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morant Bay Rebellion 1865 in Jamaica 19th-century rebellions Conflicts in 1865 History of the Colony of Jamaica October 1865 Rebellions against the British Empire Riots and civil disorder in Jamaica Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica Wars involving Jamaica History of women in Jamaica