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In 1781 over 100 enslaved Africans were thrown overboard the Zong slave ship to allow the slave owners to collect insurance money on their human commodities. This is one of the most egregious acts of inhumanity in Black history. The slave trade brought vast wealth to British ports and merchants but conditions were horrific. Enslaved …
The theme of Black History Month 2021 is Proud to Be. How did our ancestors reclaim their dignity and what made them proud to be after slavery? I grew up listening to a lot of uplifting songs that told me I should be proud to be black. Growing up during a time when the …
Francis Kerr-Jarrett was a landowner and sugar manufacturer in Jamaica. He served as Custos Rotulorum of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, from 1933–1965. Custos rotulorum is Latin for ‘keeper of the rolls. It is a civic post in Jamaica that involves helping to maintain law and order. The Kerr-Jarrett Family Francis Moncrieff Kerr-Jarrett was born …
We often think of the British Armed Forces as exclusively male, but it may surprise you to know that many Caribbean women served in World War II. Historically, most Armed Forces were almost exclusively composed of men. However, many women joined the British Armed Forces during WW2. The exact number of Caribbean women serving in …
When the English took over the colonisation of Jamaica from the Spanish, they imported thousands of Africans as slaves to work on plantations of wealthy Englishmen. Like other colonised islands, the slaves rebelled regularly. The most well-known Jamaican slave rebellions are the 1831 Christmas rebellion, led by Samuel Sharpe and the Maroon Wars led …
Jamaican Maroons were escaped African slaves who had run away from Spanish owned plantations when the British took the Caribbean Island of Jamaica from Spain in 1655. They fled to the mountainous areas of Jamaica, where it was difficult for their owners to follow and catch them. There they formed independent communities as free men …
Where is the Dominican Republic? The Dominican Republic is a country in the West Indies that occupies the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, the second-largest island of the Greater Antilles chain in the Caribbean Sea. Haiti, also an independent republic, occupies the western third of the island. The capital of the Dominican Rebublic is Santo Domingo. …
Here are seven Caribbean and American women who were abolitionists, revolutionaries and activists. These women fought to free their people from the chains of slavery, discrimination and the lasting effects of slavery. Some took up arms, some used strategy and some used the pen. The women discussed in this video are: Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth …
Where is Saint Lucia? Saint Lucia is an island in the Caribbean Sea. It is the second largest of the Windward group. Castries is the capital city. Saint Lucia was first known as “Louanalao” by the Arawak Indians in 200 AD, meaning “Island of the Iguanas,” and then “Hewanorra,” in 800 AD when the Carib …
Flore Bois Gaillard was a St Lucian runaway slave who led a band of free slaves called ‘Armée Française Dans Les Bois (French Army in the Woods). The life of Flore Bois Gaillard Flore Bois Gaillard was an enslaved biracial woman owned by a man known as Master Bellac. For several years she worked on …
Marie Sainte Dédée Bazile is notable as part of the Haitian Revolution. While there is much written about the men of the Haitian Revolution, not much is known or written about the women who helped to emancipate the people of the island. Born near Cap-Francais (now Cap-Hattian) to enslaved parents, we rely on oral history …
Grenada is one of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere. Known as the Spice island, it is the world’s second-largest producer of nutmeg after Indonesia and a significant producer of mace, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. It also boasts beautiful scenery with fertile valleys, rainforests and mountain lakes. Saint George’s is the capital city …
Where is Haiti? Haiti is in the western one-third of the island of Hispaniola between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island. Port-au-Prince is the capital city of Haiti. When was Haiti colonised? Haiti was first colonised by the Spanish who enslaved the native …
0n 5 December 1492, European navigator Christopher Columbus came upon an island in the Caribbean that he claimed for Spain and called La Isla Española (“The Spanish Island”, later Anglicised as Hispaniola). Haiti colonised by Spain Spain colonised the island and enslaved the native Taino and Ciboney people. Forced to mine gold under brutal working …
Samuel Sharpe instigates a rebellion On 27 December 1831, the Christmas Rebellion began at the Kensington Estate in St James, Jamaica. Samuel Sharpe was the main instigator of the 1831 Slave Rebellion. Although he was a slave, he was also a leader of the native Baptists in Montego Bay. This enabled him to travel and …
History has been one of my favourite subjects since Primary school so it’s not surprising that my family history is important to me. Black History Month is a good opportunity to think about our ancestry. Like many Jamaican’s my ancestry is a mix-up and blend up! My great-grandfather on my dad’s side was white Irish. …
For over 40 years the people of Jamaica have suffered under the weight of massive debt. Jamaica is one of the most indebted countries and spends twice as much on debt repayments as it does on education and health combined. In 1972 Prime Minister Michael Manley instituted wide-ranging socialist reforms. The resulting trade deficit brought …
This is a lecture that contradicts what we know of our history. It manages to span over 10,000 years of our history in under an hour. It looks at the people who lived on the island of Jamaica prior to Christopher Columbus’ so-called discovery. It speaks about the transatlantic slave trade and how our history …
Ackee and Saltfish is the National Dish of Jamaica but neither ingredient is of Jamaican origin. Ackee Ackee is derived from the original name Ankye that comes from the Twi language of Ghana. Its botanical name, Blighia sapida, was given in honour of Captain William Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. Captain Bligh brought …
Jamaica has a population of 2.7 million people and 1.1 million people live below the poverty line. It’s no wonder then that some young children are the breadwinners for their families, often weaving in and out of cars selling goods or washing windscreens. Street Boys of Jamaica shines a spotlight on these boys and the …
Jamaica Welfare was founded by Norman Manley in 1937. It was the first large scale social welfare organisation on the island. It was formed from suggestions Manley made to United Fruit Company President Samuel Zemurray, while acting as a lawyer for the Jamaica Banana Producers Association. In the 1930s a plant disease killed off the …
Marcus Garvey’s prophecies and philosophy shaped the Rastafari movement. Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born on the 17th of August, 1887 in Jamaica. His teachings of black self-empowerment are credited as being the sources behind the founding of the religion. Although Marcus Garvey was never a follower of the Rastafari movement or believed in it (he was …
A new database called Legacies of British Slave-ownership has been launched by University College London (UCL). The database allows anyone to find out details of the families involved in slavery in the Caribbean; Mauritius; and the Cape Colony (part of modern-day South Africa). The British government paid out £20 million to compensate 3,000 slave-owning families for …
Slavery is alive, thriving and bigger than ever. The documentary, Slavery: A 21st Century Evil: Child slaves shines a light on child slavery in Haiti. Child slavery escalated six months after a devastating earthquake demolished the Haitian capital and left a generation of orphans.
