The Baptist War, Jamaica, 1831
What began as a peaceful protest eventually ended in a bloody uprising with over 600 slaves dead.
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On Christmas Day 1831, as many as 60,000 of Jamaica’s 300,000 slaves went on a general strike under the direction of a Baptist preacher and enslaved African Samuel Sharpe. The enslaved men and women vowed not to return to work until they were awarded basic freedoms and a living wage after abolitionist movements in Great Britain.
According to historians, rumors spread that British colonists planned to break the strike by force so the protest turned into an outright rebellion. The enslaved people burned and looted plantations for several days, eventually causing $1.1 million in property damage. As many as 300 slaves and 14 whites were also killed. Three hundred more slaves—including the ringleader Sharpe—were later hanged for their involvement in the uprising.
While the revolt may have initially appeared unsuccessful, it forced the hand of the British, who felt its financial, social, and psychological effects, to vote to abolish slavery in the entire British Empire a year later.
