…our Berbice story
This Saturday, we’ve got the opportunity to hear the back-story of Guyana’s National Hero, Cuffy – whose statue – commissioned by Burnham and unveiled in 1976 – we’ve all gazed at in wonder at the “Square of the Revolution”. It’s called the “1763 Monument”, and commemorates the revolt against the Dutch owners of Plantation Magdalen enburg on the Canje River in Berbice (now Guyana). Although the uprising was ultimately unsuccessful, Cuffy’s rebellion foreshadowed the eventual end of slavery in Guyana.
Burnham’s historian P.H Daly went further and romanced the story of Cuffy’s heroics to suggest a direct link between the events of 1763 and Burnham’s escapades two centuries later. However, historian Marjoleine Kars went back to contemporaneous documents – written in Old Dutch – and has crafted a much more nuanced narrative that all Guyanese should hear: “Blood on the River”.
This is a preview written by the impartial “History Today”: Before 1763, Berbice had a population of between 4,200 and 5,000 enslaved people, 300 indigenous people, and only 350 Europeans. It was the possession of the Sociëteit van Berbice, a private company under the sovereignty of the Dutch Republic.
An enslaved Akan, named ‘Coffij’ by his Dutch enslaver, was brought across the Atlantic to ‘Goed Land en Goed Fortuin’ coffee plantation up the Canje Creek. It was just one among many privately and company-owned sugar and coffee plantations, where the small number of whites ruled over the enslaved population with unchecked violence. In February 1763, that population rose up in a coordinated attack on the Dutch. Thousands joined the rebellion in the following weeks.
Coffij emerged as an astute leader of the rebellion, taking control over a diverse group of Africans, locals, and even mutinous white soldiers. The victorious Cuffij put forward the radical proposal that the colony be divided in two, and that he rule the black part, with the Dutch ruling the remainder. His proposal was rejected.
Kars represents the complexities of the rebellion without romanticising it; the survival of revolution in the face of European enemies required strict control over resources and people. Governor Coffij attempted to create a black state where freedom was coupled with coercion, while African notions of honour, servitude and sacrifice contrasted with the independence envisioned by many formerly enslaved people. Divisions within the rebel camp played a crucial role in the fate of Coffij and the revolution itself.
Despite this, the Dutch victory was far from a foregone conclusion. Their success was possible only because indigenous people fought for them, keen to maintain their trading ties and leery of rebel infringement on their land. The final blow was the aid that the Dutch received from colonies of other Europeans.
Despite imperial rivalries, they feared the freed Africans more.
…with democratic change
One very smart fella once pointed out that “democracy ain’t instant coffee”; you gotta be patient!! America launched their democratic revolution since 1776, and they’re still busy straightening out kinks. But it ain’t a matter of what the Yanks are doing; it’s more about whether we want to live in a democracy or not!! If we don’t – like the Venezuelans, for instance – then we should expect that, even though we have oil, we would descend into the hell of hunger, nakedness and homelessness, as we did under Burnham!! We can’t run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.
So, we gotta accept that, if we don’t win an election, we must “take our licks like a man” – as one Caricom PM advised back in 2020; and, until then, fix what went wrong and get ready. But it seems that some “wild men” in the Opposition enjoy yapping at Aubrey’s heels to undermine his credibility.
Meaning, they’re guaranteeing the Opposition losing “corn and husk” in 2025!
…from truculence
As Opposition Leader Norton is pressured by extremists, one has to feel for him. He’s trapped by his past reputation…even though he knows the times have changed!! Let’s salute him for just declaring otherwise!!
