The Berbice Slaves' Rebellion & The Rise Of Cuffy:

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May 02-2007:

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The Berbice Slaves' Uprising & The Rise Of Cuffy!

The Berbice Slave Uprising is the most famous slave revolt in Guyana.
It began in February 1763 and lasted into 1764.

The uprising began on Plantation Magdalenenberg on the Canje River in
Berbice. The slaves rebelled, protesting harsh and inhumane treatment,
and took control of the region. As plantation after plantation fell to
the slaves, the European population fled. Eventually only half of the
whites who had lived in the colony remained.

Led by Cuffy (now the national hero of Guyana), the rebels came to
number about 3,000 and threatened European control over the Guianas.
The insurgents were defeated with the assistance of troops from
neighboring French and British colonies and from Europe.

Cuffy, or Kofi, was an Akan slave in the Dutch colony of Berbice in
present-day Guyana, who in 1763 led a revolt of more than 2,500
slaves. They held most of Berbice for ten months, but divisions among
the rebels and attacks by the Dutch led to the collapse of the
rebellion, and Cuffy committed suicide soon after.

Towards the end of the Berbice Slave Uprising Cuffy disagreed
violently with Akara, one of the leaders of the rebellion. Akara was
demoted and made to work in the gang. Akara later joined Atta against
Cuffy. Later still, he cooperated with the Dutch, taking part in the
successful assault on Accabre which ended the rebellion.

The anniversary of the Cuffy slave rebellion, February 23, has been
Republic Day in Guyana since 1970.

Derryck S. Griffith.
Educator-Advocate & Blogger.