Countdown: 9

I'm leaving for Guyana August 8th.  Each weekday, I'll post some information about the country.

The 1763 Monument (Cuffy)

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The 1763 Monument in Square of the Revolution in Georgetown 

In February 1763 in the colony of Berbice in present-day Guyana, an uprising began at the Madgalenenburg plantation on the upper Canje River.  As news of the burgeoning rebellion spread, Cuffy, a barrel-making slave from a nearby plantation, came to serve as the leader.  Under what I'm assuming was Dutch rule, Governor Van Hogheim (with a name like that? definitely Dutch) mobilized his troops - all 24 of them.  At the time, the colony had only 346 whites compared to 3,833 black slaves.  Slave state population dynamics are great, huh?  Unsurprisingly, the rebellion picked up steam, as well as guns and gunpowder, and Cuffy's men were bearing down on the capital, Fort Nassau.

On March 3rd, 500 men attacked the last remaining colonial stronghold in Berbice, forcing the colonists to retreat to their ships.  Cuffy declared himself governor of Berbice.  As many rebellious leaders discover, governing is quite a different animal than rebelling.  Many former slaves were now unwilling to obey any sort of rule, and disorganization ruled the day.  Meanwhile, with the help of English forces, the Dutch were reclaiming territory.  After many unsuccessful attempts to both turn back the colonial forces and bargain for the peaceful resolution with the Dutch, Cuffy lost his power.  He was supplanted Atta, a former deputy.  Cuffy then killed his close supporters and then himself.  By this time further Dutch reinforcements had arrived and the revolt was doomed.

The Berbice Slave Rebellion, led by Cuffy was the first organized slave revolt in Guyana, and the first in the Americas.  It lasted for 10 months and established the first Guyanese revolutionary heroes, of which Cuffy is most prominent.  The anniversary of the slave revolt, February 23rd has been celebrated as Republic Day in Guyana since 1970.  Cuffy himself is honored in the Square of the Revolution in Georgetown, with the 1763 Monument.

source (and more Guyanese history)