Season of Emancipation launched

BARBADIANS are being asked to engage in some quiet reflection and to give some consideration to the struggle, sacrifice and resilience of our ancestors who fought for their freedom from slavery, even as the nation enters into a Season of Emancipation.
Minister with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro- Knight made the call yesterday in a video message issued to mark the launch of the Season of Emancipation and to commem- orate the 206th Anniversary of the 1816 Slave Rebellion.
“Today Thursday 14th April marks the 206 anniversary of the uprising which oc- curred on Easter Sunday, 14th April 1816, which is popularly known as the 1816 re- bellion. That notable event began on the night of April 14 and lasted for some four days, during which period of time the enslaved blacks launched an island-wide assault on the oligarchs and plantation owners who had enslaved them. The revolt commenced in the southeastern parishes of St. Philip and Christ Church, thereafter spreading as far as St. John, St. George and St. Thomas. That uprising was led by an inspirational patriot General Bussa as he became generally known, and he was assisted by a cadre of
able lieutenants, one of whom was the indomitable Nanny Grigg, the only female in the group of elite enslaved who launched the attempt at revolution” Munro-Knight observed.
She added, “We must not forget the others who provided valid assistance to gen- eral Bussa, in that struggle to free some 80,000 Barbadians from ubiquitous and harsh bonds of slavery. They included Cain Davis, Jackie, John Richard Sargeant, King Wiltshire and the bira- cial Washington Franklin. Nor should we forget that the struggle to free Barbadians from the yoke of bondage involved many hours of bloody combat be- tween the joint forces of the local militia and the imperial troops on the one hand, and the freedom fighters led by General Bussa on the other. The revolt ended in the defeat of the enslaved, with some 300 of them being hanged at Enmore Hill in St. Michael, under martial law, and hun- dreds were deported to West Africa”.
“We the descendants of these brave men and women must hold this occasion dear to our hearts, because hundreds of our great foreparents lay down their lives as a signal to the plantocracy that Massa Day done, that lick and lockup done with. In other words, the days of the inhumane enslavement of people who cut sugar until
it burn their hands, and who toiled without pay in the broiling sun, were numbered. The Bussa Rebellion was a statement written in blood, “let my people go”. It would take another 17 years, 1833, for the act abolishing slavery to be passed in Britain, and a further five years for the over 84,000 Black bondsmen and women to stride forth from the bowels of the 500 plantations, as free persons. But we must never forget that the seeds of freedom were sowed on that Easter Sunday morning” Munro-Knight said.
Noting that she regards this day as per- haps the fourth most important date in our history following Emancipation in 1838, Independence in 1966, and of course, attaining Republic status on November 30 2021, a mere five months ago, Munro-Knight indicated that the Season of Emancipation is being launched, conscious that the observance of this initiative should be commemora- tive to recognize the sacrifice and strug- gle of our ancestors, but also celebratory, in the acknowledgment of their resilience and visionary in the anticipation of the work yet to be done in the world's newest Republic.
She finally commented, “I therefore request that you spend this period in reflection, to honour the leaders General Bussa, Nanny Grigg, John Richard Sargeant, Jackie, Washington Franklin, Cain Davis and King Wiltshire. Honour the hundreds of freedom fighters who lay down their lives in the struggle for freedom. Honour them, for we have reaped the harvest of their efforts and their struggle for freedom”.