Jamaica
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Samuel Sharpe
Montego Bay (St James), Jamaica
Archival Overview
National Hero of Jamaica and enslaved Baptist deacon 'Daddy Sharpe' who organized the massive 1831 Baptist War rebellion involving 60,000 enslaved people, whose moral courage accelerated British parliamentary abolition in 1833.
Biographical Record
Samuel Sharpe (c. 1801–1832) was a literate, deeply religious enslaved deacon at the Montego Bay Baptist Church. Utilizing weekly prayer meetings across western Jamaica, Sharpe organized a clandestine general strike demanding wages and freedom for enslaved workers following Christmas 1831.
When colonial plantation owners attempted to force laborers back into the fields at gunpoint, the strike escalated into a full-scale insurrection across the island. Executed on the gallows in Montego Bay, Sharpe's heroic martyrdom shocked British public opinion, forcing Parliament to pass the Slavery Abolition Act the following year.
Key Life Milestones
Organization of the Jamaican Christmas Rebellion
Mobilized 60,000 enslaved workers across Jamaica in the largest slave revolt in the British West Indies.
Martyrdom on the Montego Bay Gallows
Faced death with serene dignity, declaring his conviction that all men were born free.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialMontego Bay (St James), Jamaica