Bussa's Rebellion Begins (1816)
Sun Apr 14, 1816
On this day in 1816, the largest slave revolt in Barbadian history, known as "Bussa's Rebellion", began when a group of slaves burned cane fields in the St. Philip parish, a signal to the rest of the island to begin the revolt.
The Bussa Rebellion was the first of the three major slave uprisings that took place in the British West Indies between the U.S. abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and general emancipation by the British in 1838. The two other rebellions occurred in the Crown colony of Demerara-Essequibo (now part of Guyana) in 1823 and Jamaica in 1831.
The uprising was led by the African-born slave named Bussa who was born a free West African man, but captured by slave traders and shipped to Barbados. Bussa and his collaborators began to plan the rebellion when the Barbadian House of Assembly was debating a measure to create a registry for all slaves on the island.
The uprising began on April 14th, 1816 when slaves burned cane fields in the St. Philip parish, a signal to the rest of the island to began the revolt. Over 70 estates were affected, and white people fled en masse to the capital for shelter.
The next day, martial law was declared, and the rebellion was quickly put down by local militia and British imperial troops. In total, 214 people were executed, 170 were deported, and many others were subjected to flogging throughout the entire 80 days martial law was in effect.
- Date: 1816-04-14
- Learn More: www.blackpast.org, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org