The Revolt
17 Jun 2020Today’s prompt: “A tour of Jamaica”
“On your right, you’ll see Fort Haldane. Fort Haldane was built in 1759 to protect Port Maria from Spanish raids, and named after Gen. George Haldane, who was the Governor of Jamaica at the time. It also played a pivotal role in a major slave rebellion, Tacky’s War. Tacky was a chief of the Fante people in West Africa – modern-day Ghana – but was enslaved and taken to Jamaica. In April 1760, Tacky and his followers killed their masters and took over the Frontier and Trinity plantations, and then escalated the rebellion by marching on Fort Haldane, killing the storekeeper, and stealing four barrels of gunpowder and 40 firearms. They used those weapons to destroy plantations at Heywood Hall and Escher.”
(Don’t worry. You didn’t die here.)
“In the wake of his victories, Tacky built up his army to hundreds of freed slaves. We’re about to pass their camp up here on the left in Ballard’s Valley. The slave forces were buoyed by claims of witch doctors among the group that they could not be killed. Mounted white militia were organized to put down the rebellion, and when they heard about these claims of invulnerability, they captured a witch doctor, murdered him, and displayed his body prominently near the rebels’ camp. Many slaves returned to their plantations after that.”
(You didn’t die here either.)
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve just arrived in Spanish Town. After the events of Ballard’s Valley, Tacky and a group of about 25 other slaves decided to fight on, but at this point they were on the run. White settlers had made treaties with groups of freed or escaped slaves known as Maroons between 1738 and 1740 after wars with them, and they called on the Maroons to help fight Tacky’s forces. One of the Maroons, a sharpshooter named Davy, shot Tacky and cut off his head. The whites rewarded Davy and then put up Tacky’s head on a pole in the middle of Spanish Town.”
(You did not die here.)
“The uprisings didn’t stop with Tacky’s death. Rebellions broke out all over Jamaica. One notable one was led by Akua, an Ashanti slave who was elected ‘Queen of Kingston’ by the other slaves in that town. Another notable rebellion took place right here in Westmoreland Parish. About 1200 slaves descended on eight plantations here and two more in Hanover Parish, killing numerous white people.”
(This is where you died.)