The Bussa Rebellion was the largest slave revolt in the history of Barbados. The rebellion was named after the African-born slave, Bussa, who led the uprising. It was the first of the three major slave uprisings that took place in the British West Indies between the U.S. abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and general emancipation by the British in 1838.
Bussa’s Origin
Not much is known about Bussa, as they were no earlier records of him. Historians however suggest He was a free man from West Africa (possibly of Igbo descent) who was captured by African merchants, sold to European slave traders, and transported to Barbados in the late 18th century as a slave.
Records show that he worked as a ranger (a head officer among the slaves) on “Bayley’s Plantation” in the parish of Saint Philip around the time of the rebellion. A position that gave him more freedom of movement than the average slave and made it easier for him to plan and coordinate the rebellion.
Background to the Rebellion
Bussa alongside some other enslaved people began planning the revolt after the Barbadian House of Assembly discussed and rejected the Imperial Registry Bill in November 1815, which called for the registration of colonial slaves. Believing this registration would make their lives more difficult, enslaved people began to secretly meet in February to plan the uprising in April. Some Historians believe that slaves interpreted the Registry Bill as preparatory to emancipation, and took action when emancipation did not take place
The organization and leadership of the rebellion evolved on a number of sugar cane plantations, with each estate choosing its insurrection leader. The Simmons Plantation, one of the largest on the island, had three leaders: John Grigg, Nanny Grigg, and an enslaved person known only as Jackie. The Bailey Plantation uprising was led by four enslaved people: King Wiltshire, Dick Bailey, and enslaved men, Johnny and Bussa.
The planning and organization of the rebellion were accompanied by a propaganda campaign orchestrated by three free literate black men: Cain Davis, Roach, and Richard Sarjeant. Davis held meetings with slaves from different coastal plantations where he coordinated the rebellion plans and shared rumors. Sarjeant played a similar role, mobilizing rebels in the central parishes. The final day of planning took place at the River Plantation on Good Friday night April 12, 1816.
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The Rebellion
The Bussa rebellion started on Easter Sunday night April 14, 1816. It broke out with cane fields being burned in St. Philip parish, signaling to other rebels in the central and southern parishes that the rebellion had begun. It quickly spread from St. Philip to neighboring parishes which also experienced cane field burnings, but as yet the local militia had not confronted the rebels. In the first days of the rebellion, over seventy estates were affected, forcing white owners and overseers to flee to Bridgetown, the colonial capital, in panic. Despite the scope of the rebellion, only two whites were reported killed.
Bussa, King Wiltshire, Dick Bailey, and Johnny led the slaves into battle at Bailey’s Plantation on Tuesday, 16 April. He commanded some 400 rebels, men and women, most of whom were believed to be Creole, born in the islands. Bussa was killed in battle, but his forces continued the fight until they were defeated by the superior firepower of the British imperial troops in a joint operation with the local militia.
The governor of Barbados, Sir James Leith, reported that by September, five months after the rebellion ended, 144 people had been executed. Seventy people were later sentenced to death while 170 were deported to neighboring British colonies in the Caribbean. Alleged rebels were also subject to floggings during the entire eighty days of martial law.
Aftermath and Legacy
As earlier stated Bussa’s rebellion was the first of three mass slave rebellions in the British West Indies that shook public faith in slavery in the years leading up to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire and the emancipation of former slaves. It was followed by the Demerara rebellion of 1823 and by the Baptist War in Jamaica in 1831–1832; these are often referred to as the “late slave rebellions”.
Bussa remains a popular figure in Barbados. In 1985, 169 years after his rebellion, the Emancipation Statue, created by Karl Broodhagen, was unveiled in Haggatt Hall, in the parish of St Michael. Many Barbadians attributed the statue to Bussa and nicknamed it “Bussa’s Statue”. In 1998, the Parliament of Barbados named Bussa as one of the eleven National Heroes of Barbados.
