Let's Remember Our Women Who Were Activists Against Enslavement

Contributed

Professor Verene Shepherd 

Today we recall the 1831/32 Emancipation War of enslaved people and their free supporters in Jamaica, led by Samuel Sharpe, which started in earnest on the night of Tuesday, December 27, 1831, “…at the close of the Christmas holidays… which afterwards extended to portions of the adjoining parishes; and in other parts of the island alarming symptoms of disorder also appeared”, according to sources at the Jamaica Archives.

The enslaved man William Binham tells us that “the Baptists all believe that they are to be freed; they say the Lord and the King have given them free, but the white gentlemen in Jamaica keep it back; they said if they did not fight for freedom they would never get it. I heard them all say this.” (1)

While the majority of the anti-slavery activists in the war of 1831/32 were male, women were also involved. Today we remember those women:

1 C.O. 137/185, “Confession of William Binham, a prisoner under sentence of death

Female Anti-slavery Activists in the 1831-32 Emancipation War Led by Sam Sharpe

Name	Property/Enslaver	Parish	Sentence/Punishment
Jenny	Kirkpatrick Hall	St. James	Death
Kitty Scarlett	Cambridge	St. James	Death/commuted to transportation
Eliza Whittingham	Cowpark	Westmoreland	Death
Jane Whittingham	Coward	Westmoreland	Death/hanged
Charlotte Reid	Lambs River	Westmoreland	6 months imprisonment
Amelia Johnson	Amelia Johnson	Westmoreland	Acquitted
Ann James	Free	Hanover	Death/Executed
Catherine Brown	Mrs. Griffiths: Cascade Pen	Hanover	Death- commuted to 50 lashes and 6 weeks imprisonment
Esther Comba	Mrs. Griffiths: Cascade Pen	Hanover	50 lashes * 3 months hard labour
Christina James	Mrs Griffiths- Cascade Pen	Hanover	50 lashes * 3 months hard labour
Catherine Clarke	Dr. W. Skirving	Hanover	Death- commuted to 50 lashes and 6 weeks imprisonment
Eliza James	Coventry	Hanover	100 lashes, 2 months and 50 more when discharged
Suzan James	Coventry	Hanover	200 Lashes, 2 months and 50 lashes when discharged
Ann Ramsay	H. Bean	Hanover	100 Lashes, 6 months imprisonment and 50 lashes when discharged
Frances Douglas	Charlton	St. Thomas-in-the-Vale	39 lashes
Rebecca Grant	Content	St. Thomas-in-the-East	100 lashes
Elizabeth Lawrence	John H. Morris		50 lashes & 6 months in prison
Elizabeth Ball	Free Woman	St. James	24 lashes
Bina	Moor Park	St. James	100 lashes
Charlotte	Moor Park	St. James	Reprimanded
Nancy Campbell	Ipswich	St. Elizabeth	50 lashes
Catambo	Ipswich	St. Elizabeth	Transportation for life
Anna Freeburn	Ipswich	St. Elizabeth	50 lashes and 3 months imprisonment
Matty	Ipswich	St. Elizabeth	50 lashes
Charlotte Smith	Ipswich	St. Elizabeth	50 lashes
Rebecca Hart	Pisgah	St. Elizabeth	Acquitted
Clarissa	Ginger Hill	St. Elizabeth	Acquitted
Sarah Jackson	Ginger Hill	St. Elizabeth	Transportation for life
Patty	Ginger Hill	St. Elizabeth	Pardoned
Queen	Ginger Hill	St. Elizabeth	To be confined during Marshall law
Sarah Darling	Mitcham	St. Elizabeth	15 lashes
Suzanna Wright	Mitcham	St. Elizabeth	25 lashes
Nancy Wright	Mitcham	St. Elizabeth	20 lashes
Phoebe	Mocho	St. Elizabeth	Acquitted
Caroline Smith	Lacovia	St. Elizabeth	100 lashes
Eve	Pantrepant	Trelawny	1 year imprisonment
Mary Fowler	Dromilly	Trelawny	6 months imprisonment
Rosanna or Annie Steele	Orange Valley	Trelawny	3 months imprisonment
Frances Duncan	Dumfries	Trelawny	Death

Contributed by

Professor Verene Shepherd

Social Historian & Former Host, Talking History

Vice-Chair, The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

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