Crowns of Glory, Tears of Blood: The Demerara Slave Rebellion of 1823 [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

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 -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

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. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

Da Costa re-creates the historical moment of one of the most massive slave rebellions in the history of the Americas--the uprising of 9000 to 12,000 blacks in August 1823 in Demerara, the British colony in northeastern South America, later known as Guyana. With precise, penetrating analysis, the Brazilian-born Yale historian and winner of a MacArthur fellowship exposes and examines the antecedents of the three-day carnage and the subsequent highly controversial trials of captured rebels. Relying on local and world perspectives drawn from abundant archival records and broad reading in the recent scholarship on slavery, antislavery reform, and religion, da Costa offers a sensitive and skillfull portrait that captures the rules and rituals of repression and recalcitrance in a slave society in the Americas on the eve of abolition. Highly recommended for collections on slavery, antislavery, blacks, and the British Caribbean.
- Thomas J. Davis, SUNY-Buffalo
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

"A riveting drama and a magnificent historical tract."--Booklist

"A riveting account of the rebellion that gave new urgency to the British Anti-Slavery Movement."--Quarterly Black Review

A remarkable study of one of the most massive slave rebellions in the history of the Western Hemisphere. In 1823 Demerara (now Guyana), 60,000 black slaves rose up against their British masters and then were brutally put down. With gripping narrative, this book explores the conflicts within the society that gave the rebellion life, and the larger historical forces that finally put slavery to an end.

A remarkable study of one of the most massive slave rebellions in the history of the Western Hemisphere. In 1823 Demerara (now Guyana), 60,000 black slaves rose up against their British masters and then were brutally put down. With gripping narrative, this book explores the conflicts within the society that gave the rebellion life, and the larger historical forces that finally put slavery to an end.

A native of Brazil, Emilia Viotti da Costa is Professor of History at Yale University, and the author of The Brazilian Empire: Myths and Histories.