COM 9660 Jodi-Ann Morris

The Rebellion of 1865 was one of the major events in Jamaican history, while under British rule, that stirred much debate on the lives of Blacks. This rebellion was catalyzed by the discrimination, lack of voting rights and social and economic inequality many Blacks faced in the years after slavery ended. In this uprising, there were some players that played significant roles in the revolt. These persons are , and Governor Edward (John) Eyre. These men defined Jamaican history not only with their actions, words and tenacity but also with the aid publications and printed material.

Paul Bogle and George William Gordon was advocate for the better treatments of the poor and ill- treated in . Gordon, the son of an affluent white Jamaican planter and a Negro slave, he was educated, free and had a growing reputation as a wealthy farmer and “active reformer” in changing societal inequalities. Paul Bogle was a Baptist minister, who had befriended Gordon, was very vocal in his community about the injustices taking place in the country. There were several ways that they employed in order to get their ideas to those affected. One of the ways they did this was through Gordon’s newspaper, Jamaica Watchman and the People’s Free Press. In one of its publication, it made mention of the “Underhill Convention” which was created as a result of a letter written by Edward Bean Underhill, the secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society that was made public. In this letter, he talks about the struggle that the people are facing the lack of paid work accompany with high taxation and little to no political or judicial rights. Governor Eyre had ordered that this letter be printed and circulated around the island and published in the Jamaica Guardian in the hopes of put an end to the so called accusations. Instead, it had quite the opposite effect as it made more persons discuss the state of the country within their inner circles.

With the mention of the Underhill Convention in Gordon’s newspaper, there is a write-up that urges “…If the people of Jamaica do not speak up now, when will they do so again. For years have they tamely submitted to the iron yoke of oppression; they have been taxed again and again…” 1The circulation and publication of Underhill’s letter had started talks in England about the socio-economic and political atmosphere of the country. This was a political opportunity for those in England to “target [of] the public resolutions …to furnish British supporters with first – hand evidence and straighten them in their advocacy.” This publication allowed those on the outside to get a visual of what was happening in the country in the hopes that it will bring about some change.

1 The Jamaica Watchman and People’s Free Press, 1865

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After an insensitive letter from the Queen was order to be circulated in public by Eyre, Gordon made us of his newspaper office once more as a backdrop for a placard (sign or poster) that urged persons to claim their rights. In part it read:

“We Call on You to come forth, even if you be naked, come forth and protest against the unjust representations made against you by Mr. Governor Eyre and his band of Custodes…Shake off your sloth, and speak like honorable and free men at your meeting…You are no longer Slaves, but Free men. Then, as Free men, act your part…”2

This eventually made its way into his newspaper. It is quite self-explanatory that Gordon used his newspaper as his medium to get his word to the masses and to influence and challenge them to fight for their rights. In a way, allowed him to be in different places, talking to different people at one time. The times when he wanted to speak in public, the use of circulars were, arguably, used. One such instance was when Gordon was in Morant Bay with Bogle and his brother Moses. This circular was tacked to a cotton tree and the following day he had “an open – air meeting under a gynep tree in the market place in front of the Court House, at which Paul and Moses Bogle were present.” At this meeting, they passed resolutions about the Government’s conduct and the miserable state of the people. Another effective way that they use in order to get their message across both written and orally so that people can become more aware of the issues at hand.

Without the help of the newspaper, Eyre was building a bad reputation for himself as being a “character of meaness” who disliked the idea of equality and privileges of freed Jamaican men. On the flip side, there were newspaper in the country at the time that weren’t afraid to throw a shadow on Governor Eyre. For example in 1864, the Jamaica Guardian pens that Eyre was “weak, vacillating, and undeginified in his account and character…” and that the people yearned for a change. Later on, this account of Eyre’s personal traits is proven true when it plays a role in the fate of Gordon and hundreds of persons which is later recounted in both local and international newspaper.

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1865, things became worse when after a court hearing, there was a fracas that resulted in the Custos to ask Eyre to order troops to St. Thomas-in-the- East. As a result, this led to the implementation of putting the county of Surrey, which included the parish of Morant Bay under martial law except for Kingston for a month. This subsequently brought death unto “439 Negroes, flogging more than 600, including

2 The Jamaica Watchman and People’s Free Press, 1865

2 COM 9660 Jodi-Ann Morris women and young persons, and burning about 1,000 dwellings.” 3For Gordon, who had no direct connection to the rebellion, was illegally arrested and transported to Morant Bay where he was tried for treason and sentenced to death. He was hung on October 24, 1865. Paul Bogle was also among those who died in the uprising. The aftermath of the rebellion of 1865 caused many to paint an ugly picture of Eyre and the situation in the newspaper, however, it resulted in more persons taking a serious look at the matter.

In the months after the rebellion, both the local and international newspaper had subjective and mostly negative things to report about the ordeal. In essence, they felt more opinionated rather than objective. What is interesting is that, the local newspaper had more first-hand knowledge about the situation, yet their reporting seem mostly bias and discriminatory especially towards Black Jamaicans. One can argue that they did this is that their main audience were probably the White Jamaicans and wanted to cater to their taste or line of thoughts. The Morning Journal was one such example. In its October 1865 publication, it stated that the white reader should “embrace the role of a benevolent, yet wronged, benefactor” and that “the rebels” are primarily people who have been reduced to “devils”, “brutes” and “beasts”4

International newspaper also had a similar tone in the reports about the rebellion. In a November 18, 1865 article by the Times, they described the actions of Black Jamaicans as “the natural barbarity of blacks” and the “Baptists and the secret African Liberation Society were at the bottom of it all.” However, for British newspapers such as the The Saturday Review, The Economist their perspective was slightly different. They argued that the rebellion in Morant Bay wasn’t as a result of race as many of local newspaper were making it out to be instead “The fault lay, [it said], with the Jamaican Government.”5 The Saturday Review went further by saying that accusing Gordon to have started the rebellion was “insufficient to warrant a conviction even if it is a literally true.”6 Arguably, articles such as these and ones in Jamaica pushed for more serious debates in Britain. There were large meetings in Liverpool, Birmingham and Blackburn where individuals had connections to the Liberal Party. , a British politician and orator, cited by the Times in December 1, 1865, said that “…if murder has not changed its

3 Erickson, A. (1959). Empire or Anarchy: The Jamaica Rebellion of 1865. The Journal of Negro History, 44(2), 99- 122. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from JSTOR. 4 Morning Journal, “Editorial,” p.2. 5 Economist (London), XXIII, pp. 1397 - 1398 6 Saturday Review (London), XX, 656- 657

3 COM 9660 Jodi-Ann Morris name and be yet a crime visited with punishment in this country, then I hope the Governor of Jamaica and his accomplices will have to stand at the bar of justice for the murder of Mr. Gordon.”7

In the end, Governor Eyre lost his position as Governor of Jamaica, escaped judicial punishment but gained a reputation that made him unfavorably in the history books. The Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 allowed Jamaica to make progress in their educational system as well as the implementation of necessary infrastructure and brought an end to the Jamaican Assembly that acted as representative government. The Crown would official resume the role of government for Jamaica until its Independence in 1962.

Sources

7 Times, December 1, 1865, p.5

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• Cassidy, C. (1992). Pro Rege, Lege and Grege: Newspaper Accounts of the Jamaica Insurrection and Its Aftermath. Victorian Periodicals Review, 25(1), 3-6. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from JSTOR. • Cavanaugh, J. (n.d.). Emancipation: The Experience. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://scholar.library.miami.edu/emancipation/jamaica4.htm • Dutton, G. (1967). G.W. Gordon and Paul Bogle. In The Hero as Murderer: The life of , Australian Explorer and Governor of Jamaica, 1815-1901. (pp. 253 - 266). London: Collins. • Erickson, A. (1959). Empire or Anarchy: The Jamaica Rebellion of 1865. The Journal of Negro History, 44(2), 99-122. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from JSTOR. • Semmel, B. (1963). Governor Eyre, Jamaica and Insurrection. In Jamaican blood and Victorian Conscience: The Governor Eyre Controversy (1st American Edition ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin. • Sheller, M. (2000). Popular democracy and the Underhill Convention. In Democracy after slavery: Black publics and peasant radicalism in Haiti and Jamaica. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.

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