5 Acts of Retribution by Black People in Response to European Oppression

The Haitian Massacre of 1804 After the enslaved Africans defeated the French in 1804 and established Haiti as the first Black country in the Western hemisphere, a mass killing occurred. The Haitian Massacre was an organized ethnic cleansing that was carried out against the remaining white population of French Creoles by the order of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first ruler of the independent nation. Throughout the entire territory of Haiti, from early February 1804 until April 22, 1804, 3,000 to 5,000 people of all ages and gender were put to death. Squads of soldiers moved from house to house, killing white families. White women and children were killed last; Dessalines did not specifically mention that the women should be killed, and the soldiers were reportedly somewhat hesitant to do so. In the end, however, they were also put to death at a later stage of the massacre than the adult men. The argument for killing the women was that whites would not truly be eradicated if the white women were spared to give birth to new Frenchmen. Dessalines told his army that he ordered the mass killing because of past atrocities committed by the Europeans, especially by the former white French authorities Donatien-Marie-Joseph Rochambeau and Charles Leclerc. The 'Perfect' Ship Massacre (Gambia)The "Perfect" was the name of a ship used by the British to transport Africans captured for enslavement in the Americas. In 1758, when "Perfect" Capt. William Potter of Liverpool left a West African port bound for Charleston, S. C., he was met by ambush. While sailing on the River Gambia, the ship was attacked by local people, who organized an effort to free the captives. After Potter and his crew of more than 30 white men had completed the purchase of over 300 Africans and set sail, they were immediately cornered by more than 300 warriors, who approached and surrounded the vessel in their own boats. Heavily armed with guns and knives, the Africans boarded the ship and began to battle Potter and his men. The warriors killed the British captain and his entire crew, and freed the captive Africans. Paul Bogle's Morant Bay Uprising (Morant Bay, St. Thomas, Jamaica) Paul Bogle As conditions for Black people became unbearable in Jamaica, Paul Bogle, the leader of the 1865 Morant Bay Uprising, started an initiative to fight the white colonial British government for justice and fair treatment. The seeds for the Morant Bay Uprising were sown on Oct. 7, 1865, when Bogle and his supporters attended a trial for a Black man who was imprisoned for trespassing on a long-abandoned plantation. At the court, one member of Bogle’s group protested the unjust trial and he was immediately arrested, angering the crowd further. He was rescued moments later, when Bogle and his men took to the market square and retaliated, severely beating the police and forcing them to retreat. Two days later, warrants were issued against Bogle and a number of his men for rioting and assault. The police arrived at Bogle's community to arrest them, but were met with stiff resistance from the men and again, the police were forced to retreat to Morant Bay. On Oct. 11, Bogle and his followers decided not to wait for the police to return but armed themselves and went to the Court House in Morant Bay. The authorities were shaken, and fired into the crowd, killing seven people. Bogle and his men retaliated, by setting fire to the Court House and nearby buildings. As several white officials and militia tried to leave the burning buildings, Bogle and his followers killed them and took control of the town. In the days that followed as many as 2,000 of Bogle's men roamed the countryside, killing white farm owners and forcing others to flee for their lives. Black Nationalist Joseph Raseta, Joseph Ravoahangy and Jacques Rabemananjara The Malagasy Uprising (Madagascar) Black Malagasy Nationalist Freedom Fighter The Malagasy Uprising was a Black nationalist revolt against French colonial rule in Madagascar, lasting from March 1947 to December 1948. In late 1945, Black Malagasy nationalists, Joseph Raseta, Joseph Ravoahangy and Jacques Rabemananjara of the Mouvement Démocratique de la Rénovation Malgache (MDRM) political party, led a drive to achieve independence for Madagascar through legal channels. The failure of this initiative and the harsh response it drew from the Socialist administration of French Prime Minister Paul Ramadier, radicalized elements of the Black population, including leaders of several militant nationalist secret societies. On the evening of March 29, 1947, coordinated surprise attacks were launched by the nationalists against military bases and French-owned plantations in the eastern region of the island. The nationalist cause was rapidly adopted in the south and spread to the central highlands and the capital of Antananarivo by the following month, with the number of Black nationalist fighters estimated at over 1 million. The Black Malagasy nationalists attacked several other French-owned army bases, businesses, and farms until they eventually slaughtered approximately 2,450 French nationals, and other supporters of PADESM, a pro-France Malagasy political party created with support from the colonial authorities to compete with MDRM. The results of the Malagasy Uprising worried the French authorities, ultimately forcing them to declare Madagascar's independence in 1960. The Marlborough Ship MassacreIn 1752, the English ship "Marlborough" that was owned by William Lougher & Co. of Bristol, and captained by Robert Codd, left England for Bonny, Nigeria and the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana) of West Africa. It was its fourth and final voyage to transport captured Africans to slavery in the Americas. The crew made it to West Africa, 420 African captives were purchased, and the ship set out across the Atlantic Ocean to sail to the Americas. The captain attempted to use 28 of the Africans from the Gold Coast to help sail the ship and on Oct. 14, 1752, three days after leaving Bonny, the ship was taken over by the captives on board. They led the successful uprising when they were brought up on deck for washing. The 420 Black men and women fought and killed 33 of the 35 crewmen on board. They kept two crew members alive to sail the ship back to West Africa. The ship sailed to Bonny first and the Africans from that region went ashore. The remaining men and women set off for the Gold Coast and upon reaching there, the ship and the two remaining crew members were never seen again. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org http://books.google.com http://discoveringbristol.org.uk

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