Samuel Sharpe
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Samuel 'Sam' Sharpe, or Sharp, (1801, Jamaica - May 23, 1832, Jamaica) was also known as Daddy Sharpe, was the slave leader behind the Jamaican Baptist War slave rebellion.
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[edit] Baptist deacon
Sam Sharpe was a slave throughout his life, though he had been allowed to become a well-educated Baptist deacon. Because of his education he was highly respected by other slaves and he became a well known preacher and leader. Sharpe was a Deacon at the Burchell Baptist Church in Montego Bay, whose pastor was Rev Thomas Burchell. Sam Sharpe spent most of his time travelling to different estates in St. James area educating the slaves about Christianity and freedom.
[edit] Baptist War
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In the mistaken belief that emancipation had already been granted by the British Parliament, Sharpe organised a peaceful General strike across many estates in western Jamaica at a critical time for the plantation owners: harvest of the sugar cane. The Christmas Rebellion (Baptist War) began on December 25, 1831 at the Kensington Estate. Reprisals by the plantation owners led to the rebels burning the crops, but the slaves did not attack the white population. The rebellion was put down by the Jamaican militia within two weeks and many of the ringleaders, including Sharpe, were hanged in 1832. The rebellion caused two detailed Parliamentary Inquiries which arguably contributed to the 1833 Abolition of Slavery across the British Empire.
[edit] Legacy
In 1975, the government of independent Jamaica proclaimed Sharpe a National Hero with the posthumous title of Rt. Excellent Samuel Sharpe.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further Reading
- Rodriguez, Junius P., ed. Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 2006.
