Listen, …

By Selwyn R. Cudjoe, Ph.D.
August 21, 2024

Part 4

Slavery officially ended in 1834, but apprenticeship ended slavery in practice in 1838.

The 5,000 participants in the uprising on October 1, 1849 were all former slaves. Women were at the forefront of this battle. Although the attempt to cut their hair ignited the uprising, there were other reasons that led them to revolutionary activities.

In a letter to Secretary of State Earl Grey on 6 October 1849, Lord Harris outlined the immediate causes of the uprising: the abolition of Sunday markets; the reduction of wages for labourers; and inflammatory reporting in newspapers (particularly The Trinidadian), which he said was “morally and politically wrong, and it is undesirable to permit systematic publication of false information, especially among an ignorant and semi-civilised race”.

He also believed that “the ultimate and most exciting cause which prompted all other actions was the desire to get rid of the white people. I cannot emphasize this more. This was the sentiment expressed by the mob last Monday, and is constantly expressed. I am happy to say that almost all of them expressed this sentiment in French.”

He also attributed the uprising of these former slaves to the “revolutionary spirit” they had fostered through “constant intercourse with the French islands and the visitors who came from there.” He believed that visitors from the French West Indies were influenced by the French and Haitian revolutions.

Several “rioters,” including Sarah Fortune Goin, Felicite Jean Robinson, and Maria Theresa, were charged with rioting and put on trial in December 1849.

Attorney General Charles Warner appeared as attorney for the prosecution, and Alexander Fitzjames appeared as attorney for the women. Felicite was dismissed because she was pregnant at the time of the hearing, while the other women were found guilty. They were subsequently pardoned.

The son of African and European parents, Fitzjames received his legal training at the Inns of Court in London, one of four Inns of Court whose graduates qualified to call themselves members of the British Bar. He was called to the bar in 1847 and returned to Trinidad to practice law.

He was one of our outstanding champions of justice, and in 1839 he was one of several “Africans” (as they called themselves) who welcomed the transfer of the management of colonial affairs to the Governor of the Windward Islands.

They argued that although Africans formed four-fifths of the population, they had “almost no influence on the legislature of our country, nor any part in the making or execution of the laws under which they were governed. The principles of the colonial government, so far as we were concerned, were perfect oligarchy, from which we were excluded.”

In 1846, speaking of the unfair treatment of people of color in the colonies, he reminded Benjamin Hawes, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, that all the unofficial members of the Legislative Council “were once slaveholders, now own the same properties where the slaves then lived, and are daily in touch with new laborers, rendering them services. It is not easy to free oneself from the principles inherent in the slaveholders.”

He also believed that the descendants of slaves had surpassed the rulers intellectually. In this audacity (let’s call it chutzpah) one can clearly see the seeds of JJ Thomas, Eric Williams or CLR James. A few years later, Fitzjames became the “Queen’s Advocate” (or Attorney General) of Sierra Leone in West Africa.

In 1849, nationalism was growing in the country.

On August 1, 1849, the Friends of Liberty held a dinner in Port of Spain to celebrate Emancipation Day, attended by 250 of the most prominent citizens. Michael Maxwell Philip gave the address. He declared that his mission was to “combat the erroneous views of those people of African descent who deny any sympathy for slaves simply because they or their lineal ancestors were not slaves. (Cheers)”

“If these people want an example, I point them to the great man Alexandre Dumas. Does he deny that he is descended from the sons and daughters of Africa, who are still in a state of degradation? No! He is proud of it; and to avoid any mistake, he points to his curls with dignity and pride and says, ‘Here are my credentials!’ (Cheers.)”

Philip later became Attorney General of Trinidad (1871-1888). His mother was a slave.

Hair is important. It reflects the pride we have in our race. When these women revolted in 1849, they showed their pride in their heritage. We should remember this lesson.