Slave rebellions have generally proved to be rather nasty affairs, and the rebellion of slaves in the British colony of Demerara (now Guyana) was no exception. The violence was horrific, though the retaliatory violence of the slave masters far exceeded anything perpetrated by the slaves. However, as da Costa's outstanding chronicle illustrates, this rebellion was not a mere expression of incoherent rage. On the contrary, the slaves fought for clearly defined objectives on the basis of the premise that their "rights" in an unwritten but understood social contract had been violated. Da Costa, a superb writer and a superb historian, unfolds his narrative like a Greek tragedy, in which all the major characters fall victim to their own hubris. Masters and slaves are revealed as players in a game they cannot hope to fully understand. Perhaps the most tragic figures were English missionaries like John Wray and John Smith; they were caught between the demands of Christian compassion and egalitarian sentiments toward the slaves and their "duties" toward their race and class as British subjects. Da Costa has given us a riveting drama and a magnificent historical tract.
Jay Freeman
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From Kirkus Reviews
An engrossing history of an obscure incident: the 1823 mass uprising of slaves in the South American British colony of Demerara (present-day Guyana). Da Costa (History/Yale) draws on ample primary sources- -diaries, plantation records, letters, and records of legal proceedings, including complaints of the slaves themselves--to draw a riveting picture of the Demerara colony: Approximately 5,000 free people, half white and half black, lived among 77,000 slaves who worked the colony's 60 plantations. On August 17, 1823, 9,000- 12,000 slaves, inspired by the recent French, American, and Haitian revolutions, surrounded plantation houses throughout the colony, smashing windows, menacing masters and overseers, and seizing weapons. The uprising provoked a savage reaction from colonial authorities: In over three days of fighting, more than 255 slaves were killed, while during the few days the slaves held power only three whites were slain. Da Costa views the crisis from multiple viewpoints (of course, accounts by whites dominate the record): Planters who defended the colony's inhumane economic system blamed English missionaries for fueling the rebellion, while the missionaries, who decried the slave system, condemned the oppressiveness of the masters. Da Costa describes the career and political trial of John Smith, a missionary who defended and identified with the slaves: Smith was condemned to death for inciting the rebellion, then died in prison while his appeal for clemency was pending. In the end, while Parliament declined to censure the Demerara authorities, the rebellion and the excesses of the planters ``gave a boost to the abolitionist movement'' and hastened the end of slavery in Demerara and elsewhere in the empire. A first-rate account of a little-known episode that had large consequences for Britain and for the world: careful, professional scholarship married to a well-told story. --
Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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