Paul Bogle
Paul Bogle, it is believed, was born free about 1822. He was a Baptist deacon in Stony Gut and was generally regarded as a peaceful man who shunned violence. “In 1865, the American civil war and a severe drought had dramatically increased food costs in Jamaica, while collapsing sugar prices had cut estate wages and made work scarce,” reported the Jamaica Gleaner. Poverty and injustice in the society and lack of public confidence in the central authority, urged Bogle to lead a protest march to the Morant Bay courthouse on Oct. 11, 1865. They confronted the white and brown militia protecting the St. Thomas vestry, and fighting erupted, killing 29 of them and spreading unrest to other parishes. His rebellion achieved its objectives. It paved the way for the establishment of just practices in the courts and it brought about a change in official attitude, which made possible the social and economic betterment of the people.
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