Morant Bay Rebellion
A courthouse filled with white planters and judges, is surrounded by a mob of hundreds of black labourers, and set ablaze. A white flag calling for peace is put out, at which the people scoff. Anyone trying to flee is hacked to pieces. In the end twenty-five people are dead, including eighteen justices, magistrates, and volunteer guards from inside the courthouse, and another thirty-one people are injured. What could possibly have enraged this mob to the point that they would massacre a group of local politicians and innocent people in such a horrific manner? The causes go much deeper, in this essay I seek to describe the Morant Bay rebellion, identify its causes and results and state how significant was it in the development of post- emancipation.
The origins of what took place on October 11, 1865 are much larger than any single event that immediately preceded the ‘Morant Bay Rebellion.’ They included years of neglect by a government that by no means represented the masses of former African slaves, an economy that was sliding out of control, leading to enormous unemployment rates, and high prices of any imported food or clothing, which left people practically nude and starving in every city and town on the entire island of Jamaica. Even the most basic institutions such as hospitals or housing for the old and poor were neglected. All these causes directly or indirectly led to the violence that spread out of control in the once quiet town of Morant Bay.
When the government had so little respect or care for the people, the disregarded masses would rise up at the slightest provocation, against any figures of authority. That is exactly what happened at Morant Bay. Mr. Edward John Eyre became Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica, and in 1864 he was made Governor. The disputes between the planters and the labouring population had grown bitterer and more intense every year since the emancipation. Under his administration, taxes were increased and he himself, early in
The origins of what took place on October 11, 1865 are much larger than any single event that immediately preceded the ‘Morant Bay Rebellion.’ They included years of neglect by a government that by no means represented the masses of former African slaves, an economy that was sliding out of control, leading to enormous unemployment rates, and high prices of any imported food or clothing, which left people practically nude and starving in every city and town on the entire island of Jamaica. Even the most basic institutions such as hospitals or housing for the old and poor were neglected. All these causes directly or indirectly led to the violence that spread out of control in the once quiet town of Morant Bay.
When the government had so little respect or care for the people, the disregarded masses would rise up at the slightest provocation, against any figures of authority. That is exactly what happened at Morant Bay. Mr. Edward John Eyre became Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica, and in 1864 he was made Governor. The disputes between the planters and the labouring population had grown bitterer and more intense every year since the emancipation. Under his administration, taxes were increased and he himself, early in
Bibliography: * Edward Bean Underhill, The Tragedy of Morant Bay: A Narrative of the Disturbances in the Island of Jamaica in 1865, (London, 1895,) 3. * Parliament, Papers Relating to the Disturbances in Jamaica Part II, (London, 1866,) 9.) * Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″ * Robotham, Don., and Bogle, Paul. The notorious riot": The socio-economic and political base of Paul Bogle 's revolt. Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of West Indies (Mona, Kingston, Jamaica). 1981. Journals: PIETER C. EMMER. Scholarship or solidarity? The post-emancipation era in the Caribbean reconsidered. In: New West Indian Guide/ Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 69 (1995), no: 3/4, Leiden, 277-290 Websits: