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Joseph Chatoyer | |
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Died | 14 March 1795 |
Joseph Chatoyer, also known as Satuye (died 14 March 1795), was a Garifuna ( Carib ) chief who led a revolt against the British colonial government of Saint Vincent in 1795. Killed that year, he is now considered a national hero of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and also of Belize and Costa Rica. Vincentian politician Camillo Gonsalves described him in 2011 as his country's "sole national hero". [1]
In 1772, the population rebelled. Led by Chatoyer, the First Carib War forced the British to sign a treaty with them in 1773. This was the first time Britain had been forced to sign an accord with non-white people in the Caribbean since the Maroon treaty of Jamaica in 1739.
By 1795, it became apparent to the local population that Britain had no intention of obeying the treaty. The people of the Caribbean then rose in rebellion and were joined by a group of French radicals, inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, who saw Britain as a traditional enemy of France. In the Second Carib War, Chatoyer divided the island with his brother Duvalle, who was another chieftain. [2] Duvalle had a Guadeloupean lieutenant by the name of Massoteau. [3] Working his way along the coast, Chatoyer was met by his French supporters at Chateaubelair, and together the forces worked their way to Dorsetshire Hill, from where they would launch their attack on the capital city, Kingstown.
On March 14, a battalion of British soldiers led by General Ralph Abercromby, marched toward Dorsetshire Hill. That night, Chatoyer was killed by Major Alexander Leith. Though the rebellion continued until October 1796 under the leadership of Duvalle, [2] Chatoyer's death led to the desertion of the French supporters and without their aid, the tide of the war turned in favour of the British.
As a national hero of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Chatoyer is recognized with a monument on Dorsetshire Hill, where he died.
Although Chatoyer died before the remainder of the rebels were deported to Roatan in Honduras, from where they spread along the Caribbean coast of Central America and became known as the Garifuna people; he is considered to have been a Garifuna warrior. [4]
After a major push led by the National Youth Council of St.Vincent and the Grenadines and other groups, Chatoyer became the nation's first National Hero on March 14, 2002. Since then, March 14th has been celebrated as National Heroes Day, a time when many can remember the struggle against British and French colonialism. [5]
A play based on his life, The Drama of King Shotaway, was written by William Henry Brown, an African American from the West Indies, and Director of the African Theatre. It was the first play written in the United States by a black man. The play was produced by the African Company at the African Grove Theatre in New York City in 1823, but no manuscript survived. [6]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea, where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean.
The indigenous inhabitants of the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines were various Amerindian groups. The arrivals of Europeans in the early 16th century did not lead to long term settlement, only in 1717 did the French occupy the island in Barrouallie, though the English laid claim on St. Vincent in 1627. The Treaty of Paris (1763) saw St. Vincent ceded to Britain. Frictions with the British led to the First and Second Carib War in the mid- to late-18th century but the British held on to the islands. A Crown Colony government was installed in 1877, a Legislative Council created in 1925, and universal adult suffrage granted in 1951. Following a referendum in 1979, St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence on 27 October 1979.
This is a demography of the population of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines including population density, ethnicity, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The Kalinago, also called Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language known as Kalinago or Island Carib. They also spoke a pidgin language associated with the Mainland Caribs.
Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the country Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains. Its largest volcano and the country's highest peak, La Soufrière, is active, with the latest episode of volcanic activity having begun in December 2020 and intensifying in April 2021.
The Garifuna people are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian Creole.
Chateaubelair is a large fishing village on the Leeward (west) coast of the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent, the main island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located just south of the volcano of Soufrière. Commonly referred to as just "' Chateau", it is the focus and the largest community in the North Leeward constituency of St. Vincent, and the fourth largest town in the country.
Garifuna (Karif) is a minority language widely spoken in villages of Garifuna people in the western part of the northern coast of Central America.
Baliceaux is a small, privately owned Caribbean island and is one of the Grenadines chain of islands which lie between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada. Politically, it is part of the nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Belizeans are people associated with the country of Belize through citizenship or descent. Belize is a multiethnic country with residents of Ethnic groups of Amerindian, African, European, Asian and Middle-eastern descent or mixed race with any combination of those groups.
The Capture of Saint Vincent was a French invasion that took place between 16 and 18 June 1779 during the American Revolutionary War. A French force commander named Charles-Marie de Trolong du Rumain landed on the island of Saint Vincent in the West Indies and quickly took over much of the British-controlled part of the island, assisted by local Black Caribs who held the northern part of the island.
The First Carib War was a military conflict between the Carib inhabitants of Saint Vincent and British military forces supporting British efforts at colonial expansion on the island.
The Second Carib War (1795–1797) took place on the island of Saint Vincent between 1795 and 1797. The conflict pitted large numbers of British military forces against a coalition of Black Carib, runaway slaves, and French forces for control of the island.
Afro-Vincentians or Black Vincentians are Vincentians whose ancestry lies within Sub-Saharan Africa.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the United Kingdom have a long history, tracing back to early British settlements and British conflicts with the French during the Colonial era.
Duvalle was a Black Carib chief who commanded troops on the leeward side of Saint Vincent after the death of his brother Joseph Chatoyer during the Second Carib War.
Rosita Baltazar was a Belizean choreographer, dancer, dance instructor and founding assistant director of the Belize National Dance Company. In 2004, she was awarded the Lord Rhaburn Music Award as a dance ambassador and in 2009 she received the Chatoyer Recognition Award from the National Garifuna Council of Belize for her efforts at preserving Garifuna culture.
Fort Charlotte is a British-colonial era fort, built on a hill overlooking the harbour of Kingstown, Saint Vincent. It is located in the parish of Saint Andrew, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at the top of Edinboro road, on Berkshire Hill, just west of the town.
Nelcia Robinson-Hazell is a Black Carib poet, community organizer and activist. She has spearheaded the development of policy initiatives throughout the Caribbean on issues regarding gender and indigenous identity. Serving as the president of the National Council of Women of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, she began in the 1980s to change the organization toward political action. Recognizing a need to establish research on the needs of women, she was involved in the creation of both local and regional organizations to analyze and develop information about the socio-economic and political inequalities women faced. She created similar initiatives for indigenous peoples, beginning first in Saint Vincent and then expanding them regionally. Robinson has been involved in international directives including the World Summit for Social Development and the 1995 World Conference on Women, as well as follow-up conferences discussing such issues as poverty, economic empowerment and violence against women. She has served as a civil society representative on the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commissions and as chair of the Commonwealth Women's Network.
Vincentian nationality law is regulated by the Saint Vincent Constitution Order of 1979, as amended; the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Citizenship Act of 1984, and its revisions; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Vincentian nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Vincentian nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation. There is not currently a program in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for persons to acquire nationality through investment in the country. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, for rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the commonwealth, have traditionally used the words interchangeably.