Island on fire : the revolt that ended slavery in the British Empire / Tom Zoellner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zoellner, Tom, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sharpe, Sam, 1801-1832.

Sharpe, Sam.

Slavery--Jamaica--History--19th century.

Slavery.

Slavery--Great Britain--History--19th century.

History.

Jamaica--History--Slave Insurrection, 1831-1832.

Jamaica.

Great Britain.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

363 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2020.

Summary:

"For five horrific weeks after Christmas in 1831, Jamaica was convulsed by an uprising of its enslaved people. What started as a peaceful labor strike quickly turned into a full-blown revolt, leaving hundreds of plantation houses smoking ruins. By the time British troops had put down the rebels, more than a thousand Jamaicans lay dead from summary executions and extrajudicial murder. While the rebels lost their military gamble, their sacrifice accelerated the larger struggle for freedom in the British Atlantic. The daring and suffering of the Jamaicans galvanized public opinion throughout the empire, resulting in a decisive turn against slavery. For centuries bondage had fed Britain's appetite for sugar. Within two years of the Christmas rebellion, slavery was formally abolished. Island on Fire is a dramatic day-by-day account of this transformative uprising. A skillful storyteller, Tom Zoellner goes back to the primary sources to tell the intimate story of the men and women who tasted liberty for a few brief weeks. He memorably evokes the sights and sounds of the Caribbean in the 1830s, provides the first full portrait of its enigmatic leader Samuel Sharpe, and gives us a poignant glimpse of the dreams of the many Jamaicans who died for liberty"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

A suburb of Hell

Deacon Sharpe

A suburb of hell

King Sugar

Door of no return

The plot

Swear to me

The fires

One common ruin

Launched into eternity

Panic

Another island

Freedom

Aftermath.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674984301

0674984307

OCLC:

1112276436