Jamaican Revolution, Christmas/Sam Sharpe Rebellion, 1831

Question 1

revolt- 27th dcember

Answer 1

on tuesday december 27th, last night of a three day xmas festival, the kensigton estate was set afire and later than night 16 other estates were burning, the roads were then in the hands of the rebel slaves as the planters deserted their estates, 50,000 slaves assembled the revolt seemed to be successful.

Question 2

cause

Answer 2

the slaves thought that the British government had granted them freedom but the planters were ignoring the goverment’s decrees and preventing them from getting their freedom.

Question 3

sam sharpe

Answer 3

literate slave, who had access to local newsapapers and writings of the anti-slavery society. he thought the slaves freedom was being withheld.

he wanted the government to concede the demands of the abolitionists. the plan wa sthat after xmas the slaves would no longer work as slaves, they would fight for their freedom

Question 4

reasons for initial success

Answer 4

1. sam sharpe planned for months april-december, he secretly, carefully, patiently planned
   he used the cover of prayer meetings to recruit the slaves
2. sam sharpe was an eloquent speaker, used scriptures from the bible to convince them and agitate them even more by telling them that all men are equal
3. sam sharpe had great influence among slaves
4. some planters heard about the work stoppage but they did not believe the magnitude of their rebellion and therefore did not take precautionary measures
5. outnumbered, 50,000 slaves vs 1200 soldiers
6. the slaves long tradition of maroonage allowed them to take advantage of the geography in Jamaica to ambush, hide

Question 5

difficulties faced

Answer 5

1. a rebellion is a too volatile situation to control
2. some rebel slaves thought violence was the only answer whereas some disagreed
3. the slaves were scattered over a wide area, it was difficult to communciate easliy and quickly, communication is key to a successful rebellion
4. the slaves anger from being maltreated for years, was uncontrollable

Question 6

reasons for failure

Answer 6

1. martial was proclaimed on 30th of december
2. both the local militia and imperial troops were brought to fight against rebels
3. troops were better trained, armed than the slaves who had few weapons
4. the governmnet invoked the treaty with the maroons subsequently, maroons fought alongside whites
5. sharpe’s plan did not include violence, so there was a lack of communciation, organisation and training and proper leadership as some slaves were very violent
6. revolt brutally surpressed, hundreds of unarmed rebels were murdered by troops, brutally flogged as well, their houses and provisoon grounds were burnt down and women and children were shot on sight
7. many slaves surrendered after they were given a free pardon

Question 7

consequences

Answer 7

1. over 160 estates of various kinds were destroyed by fire
2. the slaves were defeated, even though the slaves killed about a dozen whites, hundreds (400) negroes were murdered by troops, another hundred were executed by court martial and a great sum brutally flogged
3. the non-conformist missionaries were blamed and were made to suffer for their alleged guilt their chapels were burnt down by the miltia
4. the brutal suppression of the revolt and persecution of the missionaries who were acquitteed of their crimes returned to england where they gave their (william knibb and thomas burchell) and personal accounts of two missionaries helped to sway the british public opinion in favour of emancipation win support

Question 8

causes

Answer 8

1. Like Bussa’s revolt in 1816 and Demerara in 1823, there was also the emancipation
   rumour. Sharpe had said to slaves that their freedom was granted by the King but
   withheld by the masters

2.Slaves believed Thomas Burchell who was a Baptist missionary was bringing back “free
paper” on a visit to England that he made. When he did not, they were angry and said
they were deceived.

3.They strongly believed in the Bible, and held the notion that Sam Sharpe put forward that
man should serve one master not two.
Missions were a source of slaves’ philosophy; missionaries were seen as instrumental to
the outbreak in planter’s eye and seen as dangerous.

Question 9

maroons’ help

Answer 9

The Maroons assistance and
cooperation was important as with their help the militia acted with excessive savagery against the
slaves. The Maroons helped to track and hunt down rebels. In fact Maroons from Moore and
Charles Town were shipped into Falmouth to further assist.