subject: A Jamaican National Hero: Samuel Sharpe [print this page] European settlers in the Caribbean relied upon slave labor for the successful production of sugar for almost 300 years; so when it came time to entertain the idea of emancipation, there was resistance. Some European plantation owners were sympathetic to the cause, even allowing their own slaves certain freedoms their peers would disagree with. A few even chose to advocate for the slave population, unfortunately by 1831 little had actually changed.
The British Parliament was well aware of the value in keeping Jamaica as a colony; their sugar port of Montego Bay was a major point of trade and income. They chose to ignore the looming problems and unrest that the slave population posed to them and made no attempt to deal with the issue. Since there was no sense of urgency on the part of British Parliament in granting emancipation, the slave population took the Brits collective dragging of heels as a definitive 'no', and took matters into their own hands.
Enter Samuel Sharpe, a slave born in Jamaica but was given a relatively privileged upbringing considering his status. He was permitted to receive a formal education, and was therefore respected among the slave community and went on to be a Baptist preacher. During the latter months of 1831, Sharpe received some incorrect news via his channels of communication. For some reason he was told the British Parliament had granted slaves emancipation.
People believed that progress on the issue had been ongoing for a while, and because of that the news was taken as truth, although it was a falsehood. The fact that plantation owners were denying the claim came as no surprise, so Sharpe organized a general strike. It wasn't long before the strike escalated into burning crops, which lead to full on hand-to-hand combat with the Jamaican military and plantation owners. One man started it all and a few people on both sides of the fence were killed - Sam Sharpe - was hanged for his role as leader. "I would rather die among yonder gallows, than live in slavery", were his final words."
The Christmas Rebellion (or Baptist Wars) lead by Sam Sharpe was really a perfect storm of conflict. The British Empire tried to turn a blind eye to the problem of the unrest brewing among the Jamaican slave population and it was felt by slaves that the Brits were simply ignoring the problem. Moreover, it was harvest time on the plantations so the landowners were fairly anxious about losing their crops (either to destruction or to lack of harvesting). The Jamaican military was brought in to quell the strike, but since they were mostly made up of 'freed' slaves, the striking rebels did not take kindly to being controlled by their own people. This perfect storm of rebellion did have a long term effect, as just two years later the British Empire declared the Abolition of Slavery.
