| Montserrat slave rebellion of 1768 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofslave revolts in North America | |||
 Map of Montserrat (19th century) | |||
| Date | 1768 | ||
| Location | 16°42′N62°12′W / 16.7°N 62.2°W /16.7; -62.2 | ||
| Goals | Liberation | ||
| Resulted in | Rebellion suppressed | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Lead figures | |||
Cudjoe | |||
| Outcome | |||
| Death | 9 executed | ||
  Location within Caribbean | |||
| Part ofa series on |
| North American slave revolts |
|---|
 |
Before 1700 (Spanish Florida, victorious)
(Real Audiencia of Panama,New Spain, suppressed)
(Veracruz,New Spain, victorious)
(New Spain, suppressed)
(New Spain, suppressed)
|
18th century (BritishProvince of New York, suppressed)
(BritishJamaica, victorious) (BritishChesapeake Colonies, suppressed)
(Louisiana,New France, suppressed) (DanishSaint John, suppressed)
(BritishProvince of South Carolina, suppressed) (BritishProvince of New York, suppressed)
(BritishJamaica, suppressed) (BritishMontserrat, suppressed) (BritishBahamas, suppressed)
(Louisiana,New Spain, suppressed) (Louisiana,New Spain, suppressed) (DutchCuraçao, suppressed)
|
19th century (Virginia, suppressed)
(St. Simons Island,Georgia, victorious)
(Virginia, suppressed) (Territory of Orleans, suppressed) (SpanishCuba, suppressed)
(Virginia, suppressed) (BritishBarbados, suppressed)
(South Carolina, suppressed) (Cuba, suppressed) (Virginia, suppressed)
(British Jamaica, suppressed)
(off theCuban coast, victorious)
(off theSouthern U.S. coast, victorious) (Indian Territory, suppressed)
(SpanishCuba, suppressed) (South Carolina, suppressed) (Virginia, suppressed) |
TheMontserrat slave rebellion of 1768 was an unsuccessfulslave rebellion in the British colony ofMontserrat in theCaribbean Sea that took place on 17 March 1768.
Anglo-Irish colonists began to settle Montserrat in the 1630s following tensions with English colonists in nearbySaint Kitts[1] and started importing African slaves in 1650 to work on the island's cotton, tobacco, and sugarcane plantations.[2] By the late 1760s, as a result of dwindling provisions, labour shortages, and increasingly strict oversight, slaves faced worsening living conditions.[3]
By 1768, slaves outnumbered white colonists by three to one,[1] and black and creole Montserratians, led by the slave Cudjoe, decided to stage an uprising against the plantation owners.[3] 17 March was chosen as the day of the uprising as the rebels knew that their Anglo-Irish enslavers would be drinking heavily forSt Patrick's Day.[4]
The rebels planned for domestic slaves at Government House to seize any weapons held there[5] while other slaves would arm themselves with rocks, farm tools, clubs and homemade swords,[1] but the plot was disclosed by a slave to an Irishwoman,[6] leading to a successful quashing of the rebellion.
Nine rebels, including Cudjoe, were hanged,[4] and his head placed on asilk-cotton tree as a warning to slaves considering another revolt.[5] Thirty other rebels were imprisoned and then sold to other islands.[5]
The uprising was forgotten until 1971 when Montserratian scholars discovered references to the rebellion and began to publicise it. In 1985, theGovernment of Montserrat declared 17 March a national holiday.[5] St Patrick's Day is now the centrepoint of a ten day festival honouring the rebellion and its members.[4]
In 2018, Montserratian playwrightChadd Cumberbatch wrote and directed a new play,1768, as a theatrical re-imagining of the uprising to mark the 250th anniversary of the events.[7][8]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)