Post-Emancipation
Slavery, abolished in 1834, was followed by a four-year apprenticeship period during which free men continued to work a 45-hour week without pay in exchange for living in the tiny huts provided by the plantation owners. Freedom from slavery was celebrated in 1838 at the end of the apprenticeship period with over 70,000 Barbadians of African descent taking to the streets with the Barbados folk song:
|
"Lick an Lock-up Done Wid, Hurray fuh Jin-Jin (Queen Victoria).
De Queen come from England to set we free Now Lick an Lock-up Done Wid, Hurray fuh Jin-Jin ." |
Full Freedom from slavery was celebrated in 1838 at the end of the apprentice period with over 70,000 Barbadians of African descent taking to the streets to celebrate. Today, Emancipation Day is celebrated as a national holiday on August 1st.
The former slaves took advantage of the superb education available on the island.Wanting more than to just be sugar cane laborers, some former slaves became office holders, some worked common jobs, and others stayed in the agriculture labor business. Many Barbadians refer to the statue as Bussa, the name of a slave who helped inspire a revolt against slavery in Barbados in 1816. Bussa was born a free man in west Africa, but was captured and transported to Barbados to work as a slave. He is one of Barbados' National Heroes. |
Additional Information
Below are links and embedded materials relating to the findings of the research. The British National Archives is linked, an aerial view of the Bussa Emancipation Statue is provided, and a word document converted from the original writings of Ian R. Clayton is embedded for your personal advancement in learning the material.
Here is a video that depicts the aerial view of the Bussa Emancipation Statue. This will give you a visual of what this statue must currently mean to the citizens of Barbados. You could imagine what this would mean to those who erected it post-emancipation.
|
|
|
The original writings of Ian R. Clayton. Mr. Clayton is a published author who focuses his work primarily on the marketing side of traveling and business. He spent part of his time writing for many different Caribbean Islands, including historic, geographic, and economic expansion.
|