| St. Joseph Mutiny | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom | Mutineers | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Samuel Ford WhittinghamGeorge Hill | Daaga (Donald Stewart) Mawee (Maurice Ogston) | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 89th Regiment of Foot 1st West India Regiment Trinidad Militia | Mutineers from the1st West India Regiment | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 60–100 mutineers[1] | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 killed[1] 1 wounded[2] | 12 killed[2] 8+ wounded[2] 6 committed suicide[2] 3 executed[2] | ||||||
TheSt. Joseph Mutiny was amutiny which occurred in June 1837 among the1st West India Regiment of theBritish Army. It began at the unit's barracks inSt. Joseph,Trinidad, then part of theBritish West Indies.
It was led by recently arrived Africans who had been liberated from illegalslave ships by theRoyal Navy and subsequently conscripted into theWest India Regiments. Between 60 and 100 soldiers in the regiment participated in the mutiny, seizing arms and ammunition, killing one enlisted soldier and setting fire to the officers' quarters.[1] The Army andTrinidad Militia quickly suppressed the mutiny, killing twelve mutineers; six others committed suicide to avoid capture. Three ringleaders of the mutiny were subsequently executed, while two others were sentenced to death but had their sentences commuted topenal transportation toAustralia.[2]
One of the leaders of the mutiny,Daaga, became a folk hero in Trinidad and was an inspiration for the leaders of theBlack Power Revolution in the 1960s.[3]