Burma Road Riot

The Burma Road Riot took place on the 1st and 2nd June 1942 on Bay Street. It was the first indication that the black majority were awaking from their slumber. The core of this riot was the fact that local workers were being paid less than their Americans counterparts from performing the same work and also because the local government had thwarted the attempts of the American labourers. As noted earlier, the riot took place over a period of two days. There were some looting; after this was allowed, the rioters and looters almost free reign on Bay Street for most of the morning, a force comprised of police officers and the Cameron’s Highlanders, a group of Scottish soldiers who were stationed in Nassau to protect the Duke of Windsor, who was Governor of the Bahamas, were brought in to sweep the street clean of protestors. Two men were killed by policemen on the very first day. This arrangement of the police officers was successful. By midday they managed to push most of the crowd ‚over the hill, to the poorer neighbourhoods outside the city centre.
Following the first day of the riot, curfew was enforced from 8pm – 6am; in order for them to get some peace. But this mad the people even more upset. The crowd, many who by now were intoxicated, laid siege to the Grant’s Town Police Station, set fire to a filling station, fire truck and ambulance, looted the post office and library and broke into many of the small neighbourhood businesses. On the second day of the riot, there was more looting, and one man was shot and killed. Rocks were thrown at the combined forced, and hit one rock hit a Cameron Highlander and knocked him unconscious. During this standoff, one civilian was shot and killed, another was shot and eventually died in the hospital and five men were wounded and recovered. They had a lot of weapons, because they were ready to kill the government. They moved down the street smashing car windows and breaking storefronts. Although the beginning crowd numbered