Day 3 of the 28 Days of Black Liberation 2024 series
Day 3 brings us to what is now called Guyana on February 27th 1763, when those enslaved at Plantation Magdalenenberg rose up and killed their white plantation overseer.
The rebellion spread throughout the Berbice river basin where Coffy, an enslaved barrel maker, organized the rebel slaves into a military unit and continued the attack on the Dutch plantation owners. Within one month, Coffy had captured the Dutch colony. The Dutch were on the run. Fort Nassau was set on fire by the Dutch to prevent the rebels from taking control of it
Coffy was an Akan man who was captured in his native West Africa and stolen for slavery to work on the plantations. Coffy established a nation state. A government was formed, with Coffy as governor and appointed deputies such as Atta, Acabre, Acara and Fortyn (appointed Governor of Canje). An army of 600 fighters was trained. Agriculture was organized. Workshops were set up to repair and make arms. Communication among the estates was set up. Coffy sought to export revolution from the Berbice basin to the Canje basin and, critically, to the colony of Demerara. Berbice was the first major slave revolt in the continent of South America. The leaders of the resistance were tortured, hanged, broke to pieces, and burned alive, once the Dutch finally regained control a year later.
African resistance to their enslavement was constant throughout history, from individual acts to organized uprisings. And are both a testament and inspiration to all those struggling for liberation. Today, Berbice Rebellion is a national Holiday in Guyana. The statue in the photo is of the Coffy and can be found at Square of the Revolution in Georgetown, Guyana.
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