Demerara rebellion of 1823

Demerara rebellion of 1823
Large group of slaves force the retreat of European soldiers. Includes canal, boat, drawbridge, dwellings, guns or muskets, flag, hogs, pigs, dogs, and bayonets.
Slaves force the retreat of European soldiers led by Lt Brady.
Date18–20 August 1823
Location
Caused byPoor treatment, (mistaken) belief that Parliament had emancipated the slaves
GoalsEmancipation
MethodsLargely non-violent
Resulted inSuppression
Parties
Rebel slaves
Lead figures
Number
9,000 - 15,000 enslaved men and women
Casualties and losses
200 to 500 killed in the revolt
27 executed
Minimal losses

The Demerara rebellion of 1823 was an uprising involving between 9,000 and 12,000 slaves that took place in the British colony of Demerara-Essequibo in what is now Guyana. The exact number of how many took part in the uprising is a matter of debate.[1] The rebellion began on 18 August 1823 and lasted for two days. Their goal was full emancipation. The uprising was triggered by a widespread but mistaken belief that Parliament had passed a law that abolished slavery and that this was being withheld by the colonial rulers. Instigated chiefly by Jack Gladstone, an enslaved man from the "Success" plantation, the rebellion also involved his father, Quamina, and other senior members of their church group. Its English pastor, John Smith, was implicated.

The largely nonviolent rebellion[2] was brutally crushed by the colonists under governor John Murray. They killed many slaves: estimates of the toll from fighting range from 200 to 500 men and women. After the insurrection was put down, the government sentenced another 45 men to death, and 27 were executed. The executed enslaved slaves' bodies were displayed in public for months afterwards as a deterrent to others. Jack may have been deported to the island of Saint Lucia after the uprising. John Smith, who had been sentenced to death and was awaiting news of his appeal against a death sentence, died in jail.

News of Smith's death strengthened the abolitionist movement in Britain. In Georgetown, Guyana a main street was named after Quamina. In 2023 the National Portrait Gallery in London featured a picture of Jack Gladstone and the enslaved woman Amba in its exhibition in London.

  1. ^ Harding 2022, p. 280.
  2. ^ Harding 2022, p. 94.