The mob kills the custos, notable people and volunteers from Bath

AT THE time of the Morant Bay Uprising in 1865, Edward John Eyre, the British colonial governor, was in charge of the administration of the colony, in which there were dissenting voices, much discontent among the laity and in the Assembly over the state of affairs of the country.

There were cries for social justice, and George William Gordon, a prominent coloured landowner, protested against the ill-treatment and injustice meted out to the poor. One of Gordon’s associates and supporters was Paul Bogle (nee James Bogle) of the Spring Garden/Stony Gut area in St Thomas.

Bogle was a small farmer and baker who had properties, owned horses, and was a deacon who had built his own chapel. His name was changed after he became a native Baptist. He was baptised by George William Gordon, between whom there was much mutual respect and admiration. They were to become the voice of the poor, suffering people of St Thomas.

Through his friends and supporters in the Assembly, Governor Eyre enacted legislation prescribing harsh punishment, such as flogging for stealing fruits and vegetables. When Bogle and his supporters marched from Stony Gut to Spanish Town, St Catherine, with a petition, Eyre refused to entertain them.

Things were so bad that Baptist missionary, the Rev Edward B. Underhill, secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society in London, wrote a letter to the secretary of state, Edward Cardwell. That was January 1865. Underhill said he had been getting many letters from the people of Jamaica about the “distress of the coloured population”. He said, inter alia, “The simple fact is that there is not sufficient employment for the people; there is neither work for them, nor the capital to employ them.”

The letter was eventually sent to Governor John Eyre, who asked the parish custodies and the heads of religious denominations to investigate Underhill’s “allegations”.

“In the meantime, I may state that I believe Dr Underhill’s letter contains a very exaggerated view of the state of the colony and of the labouring class,” Governor Eyre said in his response.

Absolutely nothing was done to alleviate poverty and injustice, and things came to a head on Saturday, October 7, when Bogle and his followers, armed with bludgeons, and accompanied by drum and fife music, attended the trial of a black man from Stony Gut who was arrested because he had trespassed on a long-abandoned estate.

The first case to be tried was for assault. The defendant was fined four shilling, and charged 12 shilling sixpence for the cost. An onlooker named Geoghagen told the defendant to appeal the cost.

Geoghagen was arrested, but he was rescued by Bogle and his followers in a melee in which the police were overpowered. The man in the trespass case was also convicted, and Bogle stood as security for the appeal. They returned to Stony Gut believing the day’s events had ended.

POLICE ACCOSTED

But, on Monday, the 9th, a corporal of police with four constables and three rural constables went to Stony Gut with warrants to arrest Bogle and 27 more for rioting. When they arrived, a conch shell was blown, and a mob with guns, cutlasses, pikes and bayonets appeared from out of Bogle’s chapel. The policemen were beaten, handcuffed and forced to take an oath of loyalty to black people before they were released.

Custos Baron von Keteldodt was out of parish. He returned to the following day at noon. He wrote a letter to Governor Eyre apprising him of the incident of October 7. There were talks that Bogle and his followers would return to Morant Bay, for they had sent a petition to the governor asking for protection from the police because they were “Her Majesty’s loyal subjects”. They said if protection were refused “we will be compelled to put our shoulders to the wheel”.

Fearing another disturbance, Governor Eyre sent 100 troops from Kingston to Morant Bay by ship, and instructed Custos von Ketelhodt by way of letter. With that done, Governor Eyre set off to Flamstead, his mountain retreat, for a dinner party to be held the following day.

Also, bearing in mind that Bogle and his followers might turn up at the Vestry meeting on Monday the 11th, von Ketelhodt gathered 32 volunteers/militiamen, under the leadership of a Captain Hitchens from the community of Bath, and placed them at the courthouse in Morant Bay. And, as suspected, Bogle and his followers, too, were heading there.

Paul Bogle with half of the men entered the town by the lower road, while his brother, Moses, with the other half entered the town by the upper road. They were joined by about 100 men from outlying districts. Their arrival was heralded by the sound of horns, conch shells, fifes and drums. They were armed with heavy sticks, cutlasses, long staves, some of them with spikes or cutlasses lashed to them.

NO POWER IN RIOT ACT

When Custos von Ketelhodt heard and saw the noisy throng approaching the courthouse, he and a man named Mr Georges went on to the steps of the courthouse. When the people neared the steps, von Ketelhodt asked what they wanted. They didn’t answer. He started to read the Riot Act, but when the volunteers realised the rioters were getting closer, they asked von Ketelhodt if they should fire. He said yes, and they fired one volley.

The mob retreated, as seven of them lay dead. The mob advanced again. It is said that Letitia Geoghagen, a woman in Bogle’s band, was the first to fling a stone at the volunteers, after which the mob descended upon them.

When the fighting was over way into the night, some 18 whites were killed and 31, including the rector’s son, Arthur, were injured. Custos von Ketelhodt, 18 volunteers, a police officer, Reverend Herschell, a black “traitor” named Charles Price, and an attorney named Hire were among the dead. The courthouse, the school, and other buildings were destroyed by fire.

The governor responded with the imposition of martial law by sending troops to Stony Gut, where over 400 peasants were killed, and the village razed. Bogle himself was captured on October 22 on the main road between Torrington and Stony Gut. He was hanged on October 24. George William Gordon was brought by boat from Kingston to Morant Bay, and hanged on October 23.

October 11, 1865 is a very significant day in Jamaica’s history. The people of St Thomas, led by Paul Bogle, rose up against the authorities face to face; the uprising caused Governor Eyre to be recalled to England; the system of government changed and lasted up to 1944; it inspired the establishment of the Jamaica Constabulary Force; and it produced two national heroes.