Today's Topics:
1. France, Alternative Libertaire AL #255 (Nov) - Student
unions: Building a relationship of forces (fr, it, pt) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. Britain, Glasgow FA Events from 16/12/2015 (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. France, Alternative Libertaire AL - feminism, With the
newspaper "La Provence", although we laugh rape (fr, it, pt)
[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. ucl-saguenay, Collectif Emma Goldman: history, 1865: The
rebellion of former slaves Morant Bay, Jamaica (fr, it, pt)
[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
____________________________________________
Message: 1
Our previous article on students with Solidarity, published in September, raised questions
on the part of union activists Student Alternative Libertaire. We publish here their
reaction. ---- In September the newspaper published an article entitled "The crippling
tensions" about the congress Solidaires students. This article signed by "students and
students of Alternative Libertaire", did not unanimous among students and students of
Alternative Libertaire. While we do not deny the substance, we are many to think that he
had no place in the newspaper. The union must first take a constructive outcome of this
congress failed to find a collective solution to its federal paralysis that only its
internal democracy and self-management solve. What's done is done. But it seemed important
to note.
While it is undeniable that internal tensions numb operation of the federal union, it is
also clear that the issue of academic and union returned lies elsewhere. Students with
solidarity is a tool for students and female students, and their struggles. Today students
and students are faced with an aggravated es selection, and unions are overwhelmed by the
demands of students and students without registration. The study conditions are
catastrophic: overcrowded classes, reduced administrative services, educational support
reduced. Students are therefore continues its solidarity fieldwork locally concretely
helping those who bear the brunt of the liberal transformation of the university.
Track University of privatization
But it is by building a real relationship of forces with the government that we can change
that. And it began on October 16 with a national day of action against austerity in higher
education and research. In several cities, the general assemblies and rallies involving
staff and students took place. If that day had the merit to be a first step, efforts have
unfortunately not succeeded in mobilizing extensively. In Paris, there were just over a
thousand demonstrators, with almost absent teachers. Yet, anger smoldering in our facs and
if it turns into resignation for now, she could soon burst. To have a real strike force,
it is necessary that students with Solidarity strengthens and develops in each place of
education and training. For this, participate in the development of the Solidarity trade
union and union local union, by joining their action, will guarantee an efficient
inter-working.
While the government pursues the policy of financial disengagement of the State of Higher
Education and Research and the university is in the process of privatization, it is
important that students with Solidaires continue his fight for the university becomes a
place of training, circulation and production of knowledge, open for the emancipation of
everyone, and in a perspective of global social transformation!
Students' AL
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Syndicalisme-etudiant-Construire
------------------------------
Message: 2
Hi all, -- Unless we catch wind of any big events we have missed out on, this is likely to
be the last update before the new year, so worth pointing out the fundraisers that are
taking place. ---- Tomorrow we are helping to host a film screening of ‘Stateless in
Lesvos’ – shot last month, this short documentary shows the response of the working
classes on the front line of the refugee crisis. We will also have the filmmaker with us
for a Q&A session giving his eyewitness account of what is happening. Thursday sees our
friends at Fail Better putting on a chock-a-bloc line-up to help raise money fo the Lajee
Centre in the Aida Refugee Camp, Palestine. Friday has the United Glasgow football club
party out at Kinning Park Complex. The team provides a place where people can enjoy a game
of football and find a sense of community regardless of their background. Finally on
Sunday evening there is a party raising money to put towards a new skatepark in the city.
Besides those there are a whole host of other events to check out, so without further ado…
**********
Eye witness report & film from the Frontline of the refugee crisis in Lesvos.
Wednesday, December 16 at 7:00pm
Boyd Orr room 513 (Lecture Theatre D), University of Glasgow
We are very lucky to be able to screen this short (25min) documentary shot this November
on one of the islands considered the front-line of the refugee crisis. Focusing on the
solidarity of ordinary people in the face of government-led racism and incompetence, this
film will show how the working class in Greece are defying the state and showing their
solidarity with refugees.
The director, Guy Smallman of Reelnews, will be travelling to Scotland fresh from the
press film screening and will be on hand to give a Q&A on his first-hand experiences. You
can check out his travel-blog for the project here: http://reelnews.co.uk/the-lesvos-blog/
This event is free to attend. There will be an opportunity to give a financial donations
to send to Lesvos, but it is just as important to come along and raise awareness.
Co-hosted by Glasgow Anarchist Federation and Glasgow University Anarchist Student Group.
**********
Other Feminist Reader (O.F.R.)
Wednesday, December 16 at 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Transmission, 28 King Street, G1 5QP
This month at OFR we will be reading Jackie Wang ‘Against Innocence: Race, Gender, and the
Politics of Safety’ from Lies Magazine alongside ‘Women demand freedom, not surveillance’
an interview with Kavita Krishnan of the All India Progressive Women’s Association
(AIPWA). The readings are attached to this email, if you don’t have the time to read the
whole Wang article, the sections on ‘White Space’, ‘Safe Space’ and ‘Sexual Violence’ are
particularly relevant.
Following on from conversations held in the first session, this month we will focus on
issues of safety and surveillance, in relation to the broader themes being explored by the
group. Our readings for this session both depart from specific and well publicised
instances of violence, to interrogate relationships of power within discourses of safety
and surveillance. Using these texts as a starting point we will go on to discuss subjects
like the new surveillance system installed by NICE Systems in Govanhill in September 2015
or the recent Reclaim the Night March.
If you want to collect a hardcopy of the reading please visit Transmission during its
opening hours. It would be great if you could bring a printed version along to the meeting.
Hope to see you there, mince pies will be on offer and mulled wine/beer in the pub after.
Elsa, Laura and Alice x
Readings available at http://otherfeministreaders.tumblr.com/
**********
Fail Better: PLAY FOR PALESTINE
Thursday, December 17 at 8:00pm
McChuills, 40 High Street, G1 1NL
It was a wish of mine to tell you
A story of a dead nightingale
It was a wish of mine to tell you
The story
Were it not for this lip they cut
– Samih al Qasim
It’s our third Birthday and we’re raising money for the young people in Aida Refugee Camp,
Bethlehem. We’re coming together, having a party, and supporting the resistance against
the daily injustices of the Israeli occupation. Bring some cash if you can, and chuck it
in the bucket. Then, after the party, come to the AFTER PARTY. That’s right, there’ll be
an after party in a lock up near by. Ace no?
And as well as that you can enjoy:
wirds being wielded by CAT HEPBURN
hings being said into a microphone by JACKAL TRADES
poems being read by NUALA WATT
tunes being played by RORY OB
bars being spat by TICKLE
and something else from DAVE WATSON
the whole night will be hosted by singer/songwriter extrordinaire NICOLA SIMPSON
then… stroll roon the corner to hear
the one and only CREATIVE MARTYRS
christmas cabaret banter fae THE BLACK DOVES
ended by tunes fae Fail Better’s very own sound dude FXWLL
Mon doon!
As ever, Fail Better is free, but if you can bring some cash to donate to the Lajee Centre
in Aida Refugee Camp, Palestine, then we would really appreciate it. Safe.
**********
Radical Renewable Art + Activism Fund Launch Event
Thursday, December 17 at 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), 350 Sauchiehall Street, G2 3JD
The Radical Renewable Art + Activism Fund (RRAAF) is a new and autonomous alternative
funding scheme initiated by artist Ellie Harrison and supported by 157 backers of a
successful Kickstarter campaign (now the "RRAAF Founders"): rraafund.org/kickstarter
Once set up, RRAAF will use a wind turbine to generate energy to fund a ‘no strings
attached’ grant scheme for art-activist projects in the UK.
The RRAAF project concept will be launched in Glasgow during December 2015 with a series
of publicity stunts featuring the "RRAAF Mascot" – on Thursday 3rd outside Mono Cafe Bar
as part of The Only Way is Ethics and on Thursday 10th outside the CCA Glasgow for ArtCOP
Scotland.
These will culminate in this Launch Event at the CCA on Thursday 17th December 2015, 18:30
– 20:00. The event is FREE and open to all and will feature presentations and discussion
by Ellie Harrison, Georgy Davis from Community Energy Scotland and some of the RRAAF
Founders, as they outline the plan for making the RRAAF project a reality in the coming years.
CCA Website:
www.cca-glasgow.com/programme/560533a1f92a906b2c00000b
**********
#UNITEDWEDANCE /// UGFC Xmas Shindig 2015 ///
Friday, December 18 at 7:00pm – 12:0am
Kinning Park Complex, 43 Cornwall Street, G411BA (opposite Kinning Park Underground)
#UNITEDWEDANCE
United Glasgow Football Club invite you to come celebrate the festive period at our
end-of-year Christmas Shindig.
Expect home cooked food courtesy of our culinary skilled players, a night of music from
DJ’s and a fully stocked bar.
The night will give club members and friends of the team a chance to get together and
celebrate another successful year. It gives United Glasgow an opportunity to raise some
funds for the club from bar sales and a raffle on the night, so be generous and enjoy a drink.
The night will be from 7 until midnight and we will be asking for a small donation on the
door for those who can afford it.
A Map of the Kinning Park Complex can be found here!
https://goo.gl/maps/Px2mtFH4yuD2
Underground – KPC is located very close to the Kinning Park underground station. When you
come out of the station entrance it is up a little on your right – at about One O’clock.
Literally a one minute walk.
Good transport links: KPC is opposite Kinning Park underground station, close to major bus
routes, close to cycle routes, and has easy access on/off the M8. On Paisley Road West,
the corner of Cornwall Street is marked by the Bellrock Bar, and on the opposite side of
Paisley Road West by the Grapes Bar
Bus – KPC is on Cornwall Street, just off Paisley Road West which is a main bus route.
Please check bus company timetables for details. Buses along Paisley Road West include:
Arriva – 36, 36E, 38, 38E; McGills – 38; First – 9, N9, 54, 54c, 56, 56a, 90, 121, 153
**********
G.U.S. M74 Christmas Party / Fundraiser
Sunday, December 20 at 7:00pm
Fred Paton Centre, 19 Carrington Street, G4 9AJ
Fundraiser for the skatepark under the M74, with music from Holy Mountain, Joe Howe, Smack
Wizards, and DJing by Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai.
BYOB – Open Mic – Raffle Prizes
£3
**********
A Free Pride Christmas
Sunday, December 20 at 2:30pm – 6:30pm
Kinning Park Complex, 43 Cornwall Street, G411BA (opposite Kinning Park Underground)
Christmas can be a tough time of year for LGBTQ+ folk, so to lighten the seasonal load
we’re putting on a day of big queer Christmas fun!!!
Join us at Kinning Park Complex for an afternoon of fun, games, and festive food (made by
our lovely Free Pride volunteers)! Make your own queer christmas decoration, take part in
a Big Queer Christmas Quiz with the wonderful Gloria, and join in with some fun filled
activities and games to get you in the Christmas spirit!
This is also a great chance to come along and get involved in Free Pride or just find out
more about us- it’ll be a low key event with plenty of time to chat!
The event is FREE, although we will be taking donations for LGBT Unity Scotland so please
give if you can!
—-ACCESSIBILITY INFO—-
We’ll have a quiet space available if you fancy taking a break, and gender neutral toilets
will also be available. The Kinning Park Complex is a wheelchair accessible venue.
KPC is located on Cornwall Street, just off Paisley Road West and across the road from
Kinning Park Subway. Buses along Paisley Road West include the McGills number 38 & 38A and
First Bus 9, 9A & 10.
**********
The Arts and Precarity: Forging New Solidarities
Friday, January 22 at 7:00pm
Kinning Park Complex, 43 Cornwall Street, G411BA (opposite Kinning Park Underground)
Register here —
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-arts-and-precarity-forging-new-solidarities-tickets-18587497706
This event combines radical cabaret with a day of academic-artist-activist workshop
discussions.
Programmed in Glasgow’s Kinning Park Complex, an autonomous, resident-led social centre,
the event will bring together a transnational network of artist-activists and scholars to
discuss strategies for analysing and resisting precarious labour in a time of austerity.
The Arts and Precarity Cabaret, January 22 — 7 pm till 11pm
The Arts and Precarity cabaret will feature five artists exploring and resisting public
funding cuts, precarious work and labour inequalities through text, films, music and
performance.
The Arts and Precarity Workshop, January 23 — 10 am till 6:00 pm
The workshop groups will discuss precarious work across many fields, from freelancers in
the cultural sector to zero hours service and education workers, from undocumented
agricultural labourers to interns and volunteers.
Featuring:
Min Sook Lee (professor of fine arts and award-winning filmmaker of ‘El Contrato,’ a
documentary)
Harry Giles (performer, poet, and general doer of things — writer and performer of ‘All I
Want for Christmas is the Downfall of Globalised Late Capitalism’)
Richa Nagar (professor and author of ‘Muddying the Waters: Co-authoring Feminisms Across
Scholarship and Activism’)
Geraldine Pratt (professor and author of ‘Families Apart: Migrating Mothers and the
Conflicts of Labor and Love’)
Claire Askew (poet and award-winner of the inaugural International Salt Prize for Poetry)
They They Theys (poetry performance in English and BSL, melded with acoustic music and
live visuals. Exploring disability, Deaf culture, class, race, gender and sexuality.
Mostly mellow-ish, sometimes veering accidentally into punk)
Cachín Cachán Cachunga! (intersectional queer & trans arts company established in
Edinburgh in 2009)
Caleb Johnston (lecturer in Human Geography and co-author of ‘Theatre, Politics and
Transnational Justice’)
Fran Higson (filmmaker of ‘United We Will Swim….Again,’ The extraordinary story of a
community fighting to save their local swimming pool)
Free vegan and vegetarian lunch catered by Soul Food Sisters social enterprise.
(BSL interpretation provided. The building is wheelchair-accessible by ramp. There are
heavy double doors so please get in touch if you want assistance upon arrival. There is a
level-access wide/large cubicle in one of the toilets, but no fully-accessible or
stand-alone single accessible toilet. All toilets are gender-neutral.)
For more info contact: creativesolidarities
**********
WestGAP fundraiser: THE OPPRESSED with JOCK SPARRA and Random Scandal plus supports
Saturday, January 23 at 6:00pm – 3:00am
Stereo Cafe Bar, 20 – 28 Renfield Lane, G2 6PH
Tickets available in person at the WestGAP office Tuesdays and Fridays Also from tickets
Scotland plus booking fee or via New Hellfire Club Glasgow with no booking fee. Get in
there quickly folks don’t leave it till the last minute.
£15 waged £13 unwaged or WestGAP member.
WestGAP Fundraiser featuring
The Oppressed From Cardiff
Jock Sparra From Livingston
Random Scandal
The Fore Cups – An Ayrshire/Glasgow band usually known by another name but it involves a
sweary word so changed to its rhyming pseudonym, so as not to offend ;-)
Aftershow party from 10.30pm till late with DJ set from Miss Laura Elite and the Mixed Up
Vinyl Club spinning the best street sounds.
WestGAP is an anti-poverty community group run by and for people in Glasgow who have first
hand experience of living in poverty. Since 1997 we’ve been providing a free, independent
and confidential advice service focusing on welfare rights, as well as providing support
with housing problems, fuel poverty, homelessness and a broad range of other issues. We
are totally independent, are not funded by government, and are not part of any political
party or organisation. Our service is open to all and completely free.
WestGAP is run entirely by volunteers, and we depend on donations to keep our doors open.
At a time when the rights of the most vulnerable residents of our city are being eroded,
it’s essential that community advice services continue to exist, to support claimants in
defending themselves against ill-considered policies and unfair decisions. All proceeds
from this show will go directly to WestGAP, and will support the organisation’s basic
running costs: rent, utilities, photocopying, stamps.
You can also become a member via the website, and get the tickets cheaper :-)
http://westgap.co.uk/
**********
RADICAL SPORTS & OUTDOORS SECTION
**********
Critical Mass
Friday, 29th of January at 05:30pm meet, 6:00pm start
George Square
Meet at the column for a gentle paced cycle around town.
**********
United Glasgow
The club operates under dual core principles of anti-discrimination and financial inclusion.
www.unitedglasgowfc.eu
www.clubwebsite.co.uk/unitedglasgowfc
https://www.facebook.com/groups/131129416972636/?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/groups/764904386887499/?fref=ts
Women (trans* inclusive)
5-a-side Drop-In – Monday Nights (Firhill Complex, Hopehill Road) – 7.30pm-8.30pm
11-a-side Training – Wednesday Nights (Firhill Complex, Hopehill Road) – 9pm-10.30pm
Contact the Club for men’s training times.
**********
Email future events including name/time/date/location/description to:
glasgowautonomyupdates@lists.riseup.net
If you know someone who would like to be added to this list then please direct them to:
https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/glasgowautonomyupdates
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The Autonomy Update is brought to you by Glasgow Anarchist Federation. Visit our blog at:
http://glasgow.afed.org.uk
https://glasgowanarchists.wordpress.com/
------------------------------
Message: 3
There are still journalists who think that to be humorous with rape and the way
denigrating the victim. The proof with the article that the newspaper La Provence
dedicated to a "physician jobber." ---- On December 14, a paragraph of the newspaper La
Provence headlined "Marseille suspended sentence for the doctor jobber". The title sets
the tone of the article, who managed at once to laugh and to blame the rape victim. ----
In a tone that wants to be "humorous" (you can laugh at everything is not it, especially
with its readers ... and probably less its readers), Denis Trossero works to tell us the
facts: "The daring general had removed her thong, had massaged her calves to the back
before the reward of a slap on the buttocks. So many little medical procedures conform to
the usual ethics. "Here's how to get a sexual assault to a medical consultation a little
ole ole, during which the doctor had" pushed the envelope a little too far. "
But then the worst happens. Male solidarity compels the journalist ranks of the doctor's
side because "boredom" is that the patient, not a prude, has "understood that the acts
charged had nothing medical" (translation: a complaint to sexual assault), and alerted her
husband who came to avenge the honor of his wife (and his own) and is going "beat up" the
aggressor.
Conclusion of the article: the sentence (one year suspended sentence) + the
disqualification for a year + rusting is (!) "Triple punishment" for the doctor.
It would certainly more than the perennial "she had sought, he could not resist" to
complete the overthrow of the guilt! That said, the reporter made it clear that the
patient was wearing a thong, clothes associated with seduction, no doubt, by the
journalistic attention to detail. Or to insinuate that saying so, she would not have a
little teaser doctor? The question remains open ...
Today is La Provence is pinned, but unfortunately the sensationalistic or humorous
treatment of violence against women is very common. Doctors and violence towards their
patients are not so rare. Indeed, some take advantage of their status as "specialist" and
aura that accompanies to impose treatment, contraception or without actual operations
taking into account the opinion of their patient. Equally serious violence as sexual
assault, patients or colleagues which are not rare in the medical community ...
When the violence began to be reported (here, here or there), we laugh yellow to such
jokes ...
The commission AL antipatriarcat
Read also the articles of Acrimed dedicated to sexism in the press and media.
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Avec-le-journal-La-Provence-on
------------------------------
Message: 4
In 1865, slavery was abolished in Jamaica for thirty years. Yet living conditions of
former slaves, now freed, will lead to one of the most significant revolt in the history
of the country that will leave its mark to this day. The blind and bloody repression by
the British colonial authorities will be nearly a thousand dead and leave thousands of
people homeless, guilty of having dared to challenge the colonial order. ---- Slavery is
abolished in Jamaica August 6, 1834 with the adoption of British Emancipation Act. This
law is largely the result of a series of revolts and strikes on the island known as the
"war of Baptists "which is repressed in blood in 1831. ---- Misery of slavery, wage of
misery ---- After a transitional period of four years, Jamaica gets a "complete
emancipation" on 1 August 1838, which in theory guarantees the right to vote to all former
slaves. But because the conditions of exercise of political power remain close to those of
the pre-emancipation. Obtaining the right to vote is indeed subject to a tax called poll
tax, which rules out most blacks who do not have the means to pay sums required [1].
In the elections of 1864, there are thirty-two Black for White in Jamaica but only 2,000
black Jamaicans do have the right to vote on a population of over 436,000 people.
The social and economic situation of former slaves is disastrous. The laws that abolish
slavery guarantee compensation to white planters but in any case, to "emancipated" slaves
who are without work and without livelihood [2].
The early 1860s was marked by a succession of floods and droughts that destroy food crops
of the former slaves. The weather and the closure of the southern US market during the
Civil War also lead to a series of bankruptcies in the sugar industry, increasing the
already massive unemployment. In the decade preceding the rebellion of Morant Bay, the
island is also the victim of a devastating epidemic of cholera and smallpox. The colonial
power neglects entirely the black population, leaving the former slaves dying in
dilapidated and overcrowded hospitals.
In this context, tensions rise between the white planters and former slaves. This will
push Edward Underhill Baptist missionary, write a letter to the UK Secretary of State for
the Colonies to denounce "extreme poverty of the people." There are particular
announcement that it will launch a major investigation in all the parishes of the island
in order to precisely determine the lives of freed slaves. The results obtained confirm
that its comments and, in April 1865, these results are sent to the Queen in the form of a
list of grievances. The authors particularly demanding an easing of the tax system that
stifles the population of the island.
Spontaneous uprising
The official response, which was immediate, says in essence that poor Jamaicans suffer
primarily from a lack of will and hard work, even as unemployment reached record. In July,
the governor of the island Edward John Eyre, circulated 50,000 copies of this royal
response throughout the country, which will set fire to the powder.
On October 7, 1865 Morant Bay is at the trial of a black man who committed the crime to
break into the grounds of a long abandoned plantation. James Geoghegon is from the same
village as the accused, Stony Gut, and attends the debates with other villagers came to
support. During the session, he can not contain his anger and interrupts the hearing. The
police tried to evict the court, but his comrades support him and attack the agents that
are slightly injured.
Two days later, arrest warrants are issued in the place of twenty-eight people who
participated in the incidents to apprehend and interrogate them. When police arrived at
Stony Gut, a crowd of several hundred blacks encircles and handcuff the agents. Paul
Bogle, deacon of the Baptist church, important figure in the rural community of Stony Gut,
wrote to the governor of the island to denounce "an intolerable attack committed by the
police on the orders of justice to which we were forced to resist ".
Paul Bogle (circa 1815-1865)
The leader of the revolt remains a resistance to oppression symbol. In 1965, in the
euphoria of independence, the artist Edna Manley, mother of the future Prime Minister
Michael Manley, carries the statue of Paul Bogle imposing warrior.
Flash suppression
On October 11, a crowd of five hundred blacks led by Paul Bogle walking on Morant Bay with
flags, horns and some crude weapons. When they arrive, the court was defended by a
volunteer militia supposed to protect the colonial administration. The situation quickly
degenerates and insults and projectiles jets are losing their nerve to totally
inexperienced militiamen.
The order was given to fire and seven demonstrators died under the bullets. The militiamen
then barricaded themselves inside the court with the judges and local councilors. Angered
by the death of their comrades, protesters set fire to the building and kill most of those
who try to escape. In the days following the anger spread in the surrounding plantations
and a hundred white farmers were killed by groups of freed slaves.
The authorities' response is swift and particularly brutal. Martial law is declared and
the Governor Eyre sends the army to quell the rebellion. But repression is exercised
without discrimination against entire villages: women, men and children were massacred
without further ado and hanged some of the bodies are the ruins of Morant Bay Court as a
deterrent; 439 people were killed by soldiers and over a thousand houses were burned; 354
people including Paul Bogle are arrested, summarily tried and executed.
George William Gordon, black politician and member of the Jamaican parliament, suffered
the same fate while it is in Kingston, far from Morant Bay, at the time of the events.
More than six hundred people suffer punishments such as public flogging or sent to prison
for long sentences for no good reason.
The attitude of Governor Eyre and particularly the execution of George William Gordon
provoke a debate in the British public. In December 1865, The Jamaica Committee was
created by a group of politicians, writers and scientists abolitionists to denounce the
repression by the government of the island. A royal commission of inquiry concluded that
the guilt of Governor Eyre is dismissed and returned to Britain. Between 1866 and 1868,
The Jamaica Committee, represented especially by the liberal economist and philosopher
John Stuart Mill will file three Eyre trial for murder and abuse of power. But each time
the grand jury refuse to condemn him and his subordinates. The fear inspired by these
events to growers is so strong that the Constitution is amended to place the island under
the direct control of the British government.
Edward John Eyre (1815-1901)
The implacable British governor of Jamaica will be supported by some writers as Charles
Dickens, when he will answer for his bloody repression to justice.
The legacy of Morant Bay
The most significant legacy of this revolt is the one left in the popular consciousness of
the country. The history of Jamaica is marked by a series of revolts since the seizure of
territory by the English in 1655 (see below), but that of Morant Bay is probably one of
the most symbolic. It shows in particular the persistence of the slave system long after
the abolition, in terms of political power and economic and social conditions. George
William Gordon and Paul Bogle became especially Jamaican national hero, but they are
mostly symbolic figures of the black consciousness of the island.
"Am IA Man and A Brother? "(Am I - really - a man and a brother?)
This racist caricature, showing an obviously insane and bloodthirsty rebel, was published
in November 1865 in the satirical magazine Fun. It diverts the abolitionist movement
slogan "Am I Not A Man and A Brother? "(Do I not - too - a man and a brother?).
The revolt of Morant Bay will be one of the models of social movements that will lead to
the independence of Jamaica in 1962. The memory will be brandished by Marcus Garvey Rastas
or during major strikes and revolts of 1938.
It is also present in popular culture of the island, especially in novels Revenge of HG
Smooth in 1918 and New Day VS Reid in 1949. One of the most poignant stories of this
event, showing its continued influence in the culture of the island, is probably in the
song in 1865 (96 Degrees In The Shade) of reggae band Third World in 1977:
"96 degrees in the shade
You caught me on the loose, fighting to be free
Now you show me a noose was cotton tree
Entertainment for you, for me martyrdom ..."
Translation :
"35 degrees in the shade
You caught me while I escaped and I was fighting for freedom
and now you show me a rope to the end of a branch
A fun show for you, martyrdom for me ..."
David (AL Alsace)
The REBEL ISLAND
According to legend, the most unruly slaves were landed from English slave ships during
the first stop in the West Indies, Jamaica ...
When the British show the island to the Spaniards in 1655, they began deporting Africans
to work in the sugarcane fields: more than one million people will be enslaved until the
early nineteenth century.
Throughout the four centuries of British colonization, slaves and their descendants will
not cease to rebel particularly under the influence of the Maroons.
This term refers to slaves who escaped from plantations formed self-sustaining communities
in the hills of the island's center where they survive African traditions and oppose the
colonial authorities regularly. They also make many raids on plantations to free more
slaves from the colonial yoke.
The first war broke out in 1720 Maroon and lasts until 1739. It pits the slaves who were
freed British troops who are trying to consolidate their power in the territories
controlled by the Maroons.
In almost twenty years, the colonial authorities fail to reduce resistance. Maroons
acquire a reputation as fierce warriors who left many traces in Jamaican popular culture.
In 1760, a slave named Tacky and a group of his comrades take control of the plantations
where they work, killing the owners. Follows a series of revolts where rebel slaves killed
sixty whites before being brutally repressed: 500 slaves die. Between 1795 and 1796,
hundreds of slaves escaped from plantations withstand more than 5,000 British soldiers for
more than five months before traveling. This is the second war of the Maroons.
In 1831, war Baptists mobilizes more than 60,000 slaves (of which 500 are killed), making
it the largest slave revolt in the history of British West Indies.
This tradition of resistance will continue after the end of slavery and the rebellion of
Morant Bay. In the twentieth century, this heritage is particularly incarnate in the
figure of Marcus Garvey, who emigrated to the United States, and will base will lead the
largest oil association history. It argues in particular for the return of the descendants
of slaves in Africa.
In the 1930s and 1940s, followers of the Rastafarian movement will seize territories in
the countryside and in the capital Kingston to found self-sufficient and independent black
communities of the central government. They will be many waves of repression but also gain
significant victories.
Following the 1929 depression, the country is experiencing an economic decline that will
lead to a series of strikes and revolts in Jamaica and the surrounding islands, as many
movements that ultimately lead to the independence of most British colonies West Indies in
the 1960s.
THIRTY-FIVE YEARS WITHOUT FREEDOM OR SLAVERY
1831 War of the Baptists.
1834 Abolition of slavery in Jamaica. , 1838 Emancipation of the island which is now ruled
by local authorities from the plantocracy.
October 7, 1865 Incidents at the trial of a Black in Morant Bay, the police manhandled.
October 11 Five hundred blacks led by Paul Bogle walk on Morant Bay. The militia planters
fired and killed seven people. The crowd fire and kills the court militia, judges and
planters. The revolt spreads around.
October 13 The Governor Eyre declares martial law and sent the army to repress the revolt.
Eight hundred people were killed and nearly 1,000 homes burned.
October 23 Paul Bogle and George William Gordon are condemned and executed.
November 13 Martial law is suspended.
1866 Eyre is dismissed and returned to Britain. He will be tried three times but neither
he nor his subordinates will not be condemned.
Illustration: Paul Bogle, by Maria Papaefstathiou
[1] This is the same type of tax that will exclude blacks of the electoral system in the
southern states of the United States between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the
civil rights movement in 1963.
[2] It is estimated that at that time about 60,000 blacks are employed while 130,000 are
unemployed.
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?En-1865-La-revolte-des-anciens
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