Montserrat slave rebellion of 1768

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Montserrat slave rebellion of 1768
Part of slave revolts in North America
Admiralty Chart No 254 Montserrat, Published 1869.jpg
Map of Montserrat (19th century)
Date1768
Location
16°42′N62°12′W / 16.7°N 62.2°W / 16.7; -62.2
GoalsLiberation
Resulted inRebellion suppressed
Parties
Enslaved Africans
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Montserratian slaveowners
Lead figures

Cudjoe  Skull and Crossbones.svg

Outcome
Death(s)9 executed
Caribbean location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Caribbean

The Montserrat slave rebellion of 1768 was an unsuccessful slave rebellion in the British colony of Montserrat in the Caribbean Sea that took place on 17 March 1768.

Contents

Background

Anglo-Irish colonists began to settle Montserrat in the 1630s following tensions with English colonists in nearby Saint Kitts [1] and started importing African slaves in 1650 to work on the island's cotton, tobacco, and sugarcane plantations. [2] By the late 1760s, as a result of dwindling provisions, labour shortages, and increasingly strict oversight, slaves faced worsening living conditions. [3]

Uprising

By 1768, slaves outnumbered white colonists by three to one, [1] and black and creole Montserratians, led by the slave Cudjoe, decided to stage an uprising against the plantation owners. [3] 17 March was chosen as the day of the uprising as the rebels knew that their Anglo-Irish enslavers would be drinking heavily for St Patrick's Day. [4]

The rebels planned for domestic slaves at Government House to seize any weapons held there [5] while other slaves would arm themselves with rocks, farm tools, clubs and homemade swords, [1] but the plot was disclosed by a slave to an Irishwoman, [6] leading to a successful quashing of the rebellion.

Repercussions

Nine rebels, including Cudjoe, were hanged, [4] and his head placed on a silk-cotton tree as a warning to slaves considering another revolt. [5] Thirty other rebels were imprisoned and then sold to other islands. [5]

Cultural legacy

The uprising was forgotten until 1971 when Montserratian scholars discovered references to the rebellion and began to publicise it. In 1985, the Government of Montserrat declared 17 March a national holiday. [5] St Patrick's Day is now the centrepoint of a ten day festival honouring the rebellion and its members. [4]

In 2018, Montserratian playwright Chadd Cumberbatch wrote and directed a new play, 1768, as a theatrical re-imagining of the uprising to mark the 250th anniversary of the events. [7] [8]

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Sir Howard Archibald Fergus was a Montserratian author and historian. He was born at Long Ground in Montserrat. He attended Bethel Primary School, Montserrat Secondary School, Erdiston Teachers College in Barbados, the University College of the West Indies (London), the Universities of Bristol and Manchester, and finally the University of the West Indies (UWI), earning a PhD in 1978. He retired from the University in 2004 as Professor of Eastern Caribbean Studies.

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Chadd Alphonso Fitzgerald CumberbatchOBE is a Montserratian visual and performing artist, playwright and poet.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Afrikan77, New (17 March 2018). "The Cudjoe & Montserrat Slave Rebellion March 17 1768 Africans Attack Irish Planters". newafrikan77. Retrieved 23 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. Lennard, J. (1998) "Grumblings from an Ashen Island", Americas, Vol. 50, Issue 1, p. 44.
  3. 1 2 Ryzewski & Cherry, p. 356.
  4. 1 2 3 Meade, Natalie (21 March 2019). "St Patrick's Day on Montserrat". The New Yorker. Conde Nast. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Fergus, p. 83.
  6. Bush, p. 67.
  7. "1768: A Theatric Reimagining of St. Patrick's Day 250 Years Ago". 20 March 2018.
  8. "1768 Uprising to be remembered with Drums at Montserrat's St Patrick's Festival".

Sources