april/june 2011
magazine
who was lord nelson?
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features
bussa uprising
6
fight to freedom
8
Sarah Ann Gill
spotlight
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issue 2
who was lord nelson? No, he is not a national hero, nor is he being advocated as such. Then, why is he mentioned in our heroes edition?
Much controversy surrounds his memorial in Heroes Square. Who was the man behind the statue? And should his statue still be there?
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Who is Lord Nelson?
spotlight
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Much is said about Lord Nelson, 1st Viscount Horatio Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté. Many believe he has no place in Trafalgar Square, later renamed Heroes Square, when the first official National Heroes Day was celebrated on April 28th, 1998. The square, as others around the Caribbean, was named for the square in London of the same name, which honours Nelson. Who is Lord Nelson? And why does a statue bearing his likeness still stand in our nation today? Is he a national hero? The short answer to that last question is no. He did spend some time in the West Indies, he actually met his wife, Frances Nisbett, who was from a Nevis (of St. Kitts &…) plantation family. ‘Maybe his statue should reside there then?’ Some may ask. To say Lord Nelson was just a sailor, would be like saying the sun is just a light bulb way off in the sky; massive understatement. To understand, even in the slightest, his position in our history, is to remember that our history was once British history, and only did those two paths diverge on November 30th 1966. Early in his career, as a young sailor, Nelson worked with a merchant shipping company, Hibbert, Purrier and Horton, aboard the West Indiamen. With them he crossed the Atlantic twice. It could be assumed that he took part in the transportation of slaves. The reality is, most people at that time, (maybe except the slaves themselves) were willingly complicit in the slave trade, despite how absolutely horrible it was. It’s interesting to note, however, that the lives of Nelson and Bussa, mentioned later in this issue, overlapped. Who knows they may have even crossed paths. Maybe it would be worth taking a look at the ancient shipping logs of Hibbert, Purrier and Horton. Hmm.
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Whatever the case, Nelson went onto become a consummate and dedicated sailor, losing his arm and sight in his right eye to battle. He fought gallantly and died in defense of Britain and her colonies, (at the time including Barbados), at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805...in Spain. Maybe it is not Nelson that angers some so much, rather than what his statue represents; a time when slavery was in full swing, and the British empire was making it big off the backs of many of our forefathers. Indeed, that was a terrible time for the African people, torn from their native land and brought to serve a master they knew nothing about, in a land that was not their own and not to their own gain. But the fact remains, that whether Nelson is famous or notorious to us Barbadians, he played an integral role in British history a history that was once inextricably our own. Remember those six degrees of separation? I guess we would never know how our world, our freedom or our nation as we know it today would have been adversely affect had it not been for Nelson’s contribution to the British nation. Maybe we’d be speaking French and quarrelling about Napoleon’s statue, or Spanish, and debating about Columbus’. The point? Without Britain - and Lord Nelson by extension - despite his apparent disassociation with Barbados, we may not be the Barbados as we know today. We may very well be a vastly different nation.
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spotlight
bussa uprising: the beginning of the end of slavery in barbados 6
magazine
April 14th 1816. A Sunday. A day that charged the atmosphere of the British West Indies and changed the course of our nations, rattling the public faith in slavery down to the studs. It was a day, 96 years to the date prior to the sinking of the Titanic, and indeed a date of titanic significance. For without it our history would no doubt be vastly different.
still being felt. They became hopeful that freedom was looming when the governor returned from Gadeloupe that same year. When he didn’t return with the ‘free paper’ they thought he was bringing that was the tipping point. “Bussa planned the uprising with people from the different estates. This included Jackey, the driver at the Simmons estate, King Wiltshire, a carpenter at Bayley’s and Nanny Grigg, a literate domestic at Simmons.” (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
Our journey through the lives of the National heroes of Barbados begins with the one about who education/lesson52.htm) the least is known; a slave, born a free African of Igbo origin, known as Bussa. After commanding 400 men and women against the establishment, including the West Indian Bussa was a head-ranger slave on the Bayley’s Regiment (an all black army), the local soldiers and Plantation in St. Philip. This is said to have entitled the King’s troops, Bussa was killed along with 50 him to more privileges than the field slaves, but others in battle, 70 executed in the field, 144 also he was still a slave, so doubtfully, those privileges being executed after trial in Bridgetown and 132 made much difference to his standard of living. He were sent to neighbouring islands. still felt the pinch of the massa’s grip and no doubt the crack of his whip. He felt the pain of his fellow The slaves lost that battle, but public faith was never slaves on the plantation and saw a need to make fully restored in the idea of slavery. It was on it’s a change. last legs and pushed to it’s knees by a desperate In 1807, British Parliament had passed the Act to end the slave trade but by 1815 the effects were
yet organised outcry for freedom, led by a slave of Igbo heritage; a hero known as Bussa.
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spotlight
fight to
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magazine
freedom the plight of sarah ann gill
The second of our national heroes by chronology, Sarah Ann Gill fought against the immeasurable odds of her day. Not only did she defy the church of England by stoking the flames of Methodism in Barbados, but she was a woman, a widow, whose right, in society’s eyes at the time, would have been to get married and keep herself out of mischief. Added to that, she was black. A free black, but black nonetheless. While her father was white and her mother was black, it made no difference. Any tinge of African descent was black enough.
wife were forced to flee to St. Vincent, she and her sister-in-law Christina opened the doors of their homes to continue the fledgling worship, against threats of bodily harm, persecution, threats against property, legislation and being brought before the courts.
In 1664, the Conventicles Act prohibited a meeting of more than 5 persons of a religious nature, without a licensed minister at a licensed location. Being a widowed, free-colored female aside, obtaining such a license would prove impossible, as Methodism was seen as an insurrection against slavery and Born on February 16th 1795, she was 21 years old all involved were viewed as a stirring up trouble at the time of the Bussa rebellion. She would’ve and anti-slavery sentiment. Yet, she continued to known of the plight of the slaves in Barbados, she hold services in her home. Charges were trumped would’ve seen it everyday. up about her having guns and ammunition at her The Church of England, the dominant religious home, all to validate the assaults waged against establishment of the day was predominantly white, her. and Methodism for many blacks provided them with an alternative to ’the massa’s’ church. Sarah Ann Her plight made it all the way to the House of Gill embraced Methodism but the white plantocracy Commons in Britain, sparking a vigorous debate soon managed to have the missionaries ousted. leading to securing ample protection and religious toleration to all. It was then she made a choice. When the chapel was destroyed, and the minister and his pregnant
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magazine volume 1 issue 1
jan to march 2011 editor
israel mallett
produced by
the idea centre
an initiative of
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