Sam Sharpe was no fool

Today, we remember the Sam Sharpe-led Baptist War which occurred late December some 169 years ago (1831). And it is important to have an accurate biography of Sharpe and what he did and what was his motivation.

I have been concerned about what our young people are taught about our national heroes in the CXC syllabus. Sadly, it appears that the same prejudices against people of African origin that were taught by many British historians under the O' Level British examinations continue until today. The portrait of the enslaved as dumb, illiterate, rebellious, violent and irreligious continue to dominate.

Recently, in the YouthLink, an article entitled 'Major Slave revolts' said, "Sam Sharpe believed that the slaves had been freed by England and that the planters were withholding this freedom." (December 7-13). Unfortunately, in my search of original documents I have not discovered any statement by Sharpe or the enslaved to that effect. Furthermore, it does not seem plausible either. Sam Sharpe was no fool. He was a well-read and educated 26-year-old man. He was very articulate, and Rev Henry Bleby described him as a very intelligent young man. Sharpe was known to read the English newspapers and would have known that the British government had not passed any legislation to free the enslaved. And if Sharpe knew that the enslaved were not legally freed by the authorities and told the fellow enslaved such folly, then he would have been deceitful.

Sharpe and the enslaved knew that they had not been freed. That is why he and his fellows organised a strike to demand freedom and wages. They were going against the British missionaries who wanted them to wait on the benevolence of Britain to grant freedom. However, they believed in agitating for freedom. It makes no sense to claim that Sharpe and others believed a lie. It also undermines their struggle and the nobleness of their activities.

Hard work, submission, etc

Another myth still perpetuated was that the cause of the revolt was due to the non-conformist missionaries. The testimonies of Sharpe and others stated that it was not the missionaries who taught them about freedom. In fact, James Phillippo, Baptist British missionary, said that in his meetings he did not sing certain hymns, especially those that had the word 'liberty', so as to prevent the enslaved from getting the wrong ideas. William Knibb, British missionary, said he did not preach from the text, "If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed", for the same reason. The missionaries preached to the enslaved on the virtues of hard work, submission, obedience, honesty and discipline. Before 1831, the British missionaries were supportive of the status quo and were careful not to get involved in the social and political affairs of Jamaica.

Sharpe and others said that they read about freedom in the Bible for themselves. It was to their credit, based on their interpretation, that they believed in equality of all humans, which was a revolutionary idea that was not accepted by most Europeans. Sharpe was no fool and he understood the implications of the teachings of the Bible. Although the British missionaries wanted to hide aspects of the truth from the enslaved, Sharpe and others could not be duped, and they figured out that the Bible taught about their emancipation. For them, freedom from the dominion of sin also meant freedom from the sinful system of slavery.

Sharpe was a smart saint of God and he and the others should be given credit for interpreting the Bible correctly, thereby agitating for freedom rather that waiting for it.

Wishing my readers an informed 2011.

Devon Dick is pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'The Cross and the Machete: Native Baptists of Jamaica - Identity, Ministry and Legacy'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com