Statecraft & Independence
Landmark
Sam Sharpe
1801 – 1832
Leader of the 1831 Christmas Rebellion against slavery
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Jamaica Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
An enslaved Baptist deacon in St James whose call for a general strike grew into the largest uprising against slavery in the British Caribbean.
Sharpe planned a peaceful refusal to work after Christmas 1831 unless the enslaved were paid; it turned into a rebellion involving tens of thousands of people across western Jamaica. He was hanged in Montego Bay in 1832. The brutality of the repression strengthened the case for abolition, passed by the British Parliament the following year. He was named a National Hero in 1975.
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