Courland Bay Revolt
In the 15-day Courland Bay revolt, which took place in Tobago, W.I., enslaved African, Sandy, organized forty men and led them in an uprising against slave plantation owners, their estates, and the island’s military.
After Sandy killed the owner of the plantation where he worked, he and his men burned several estates killing many plantation owners and burned cane fields as they marched their way to attack the Courland Bay military post. The whites at the post couldn’t contain the revolutionaries, and days later had to call in reinforcement from Barbados. Sandy and his army eventually fled the island to nearby Trinidad, where they escaped to the interior of the island.
After the revolt, plantation owners were highly fearful of a further insurrection. They were particularly concerned because of the high number of enslaved Africans in comparison to the white population. They were correct in their assessment because several other uprisings followed the Courland Bay revolt.
