Island on fire : the revolt that ended slavery in the British Empire / Tom Zoellner.
Publisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2020Description: pages cmContent type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volume001: BDZ0040474924ISBN: 9780674984301Subject(s): Sharpe, Sam, 1801-1832 | Slavery -- History -- 19th century. -- Jamaica | Slavery -- History -- 19th century. -- Great Britain | History
| General & world history | Slavery & abolition of slavery | Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies | History of the Americas | Military history | Jamaica | British Empire | 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899 | Ethnic studies | European history | Social & cultural history | Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions | United Kingdom, Great Britain | Caribbean islands | Relating to ethnic minorities & groups | Relating to African American people | Georgian & Regency Britain | Jamaica -- History -- Slave Insurrection, 1831DDC classification: 326.8097292 LOC classification: HT1096 | .Z54 2020Summary: In 1831 enslaved Jamaicans revolted. What began as a peaceful movement soon became a bloodbath as British troops retaliated. Tom Zoellner tells the inspiring story of the uprising that galvanized antislavery forces in Britain and led directly to abolition two years later. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle AwardTom Zoellner tells the story of Sam Sharpes revolution manqu, and the subsequent abolition of slavery in Jamaica, in a way thats acutely relevant to the racial unrest of our own time. Island on Fire is impeccably researched and seductively readable.Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls RisingFrom a New York Times bestselling author, a gripping account of the slave rebellion that led to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.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 in 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, triggering a decisive turn against slavery. For centuries bondage had fed Britains 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 rose up and tasted liberty for a few brief weeks. He provides the first full portrait of the rebellions enigmatic leader, Samuel Sharpe, and gives us a poignant glimpse of the struggles and dreams of the many Jamaicans who died for liberty.
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Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
From a New York Times bestselling author, a gripping account of the slave rebellion that led to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
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 in 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, triggering 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 rose up and tasted liberty for a few brief weeks. He provides the first full portrait of the rebellion's enigmatic leader, Samuel Sharpe, and gives us a poignant glimpse of the struggles and dreams of the many Jamaicans who died for liberty.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
In 1831 enslaved Jamaicans revolted. What began as a peaceful movement soon became a bloodbath as British troops retaliated. Tom Zoellner tells the inspiring story of the uprising that galvanized antislavery forces in Britain and led directly to abolition two years later. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle AwardTom Zoellner tells the story of Sam Sharpes revolution manqu, and the subsequent abolition of slavery in Jamaica, in a way thats acutely relevant to the racial unrest of our own time. Island on Fire is impeccably researched and seductively readable.Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls RisingFrom a New York Times bestselling author, a gripping account of the slave rebellion that led to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.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 in 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, triggering a decisive turn against slavery. For centuries bondage had fed Britains 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 rose up and tasted liberty for a few brief weeks. He provides the first full portrait of the rebellions enigmatic leader, Samuel Sharpe, and gives us a poignant glimpse of the struggles and dreams of the many Jamaicans who died for liberty.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Introduction (p. 1)
- 1 A Suburb of Hell (p. 8)
- 2 Deacon Sharpe (p. 24)
- 3 King Sugar (p. 35)
- 4 The Door of No Return (p. 54)
- 5 The Plot (p. 79)
- 6 Swear to Me (p. 100)
- 7 The Fires (p. 111)
- 8 One Common Ruin (p. 135)
- 9 Launched into Eternity (p. 155)
- 10 Panic (p. 191)
- 11 Another Island (p. 217)
- 12 Freedom (p. 227)
- 13 Aftermath (p. 252)
- Epilogue (p. 269)
- Notes (p. 285)
- Bibliography (p. 323)
- Acknowledgments (p. 343)
- Index (p. 345)
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