UG to commemorate 200th Anniversary of the 1823 Demerara Revolt

The University of Guyana (UG) through the Department of History and Caribbean Studies will be hosting a series of events in August 2023 to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the 1823 Demerara Uprising in Guyana.
The events, organised under the theme “Honouring our Ancestors’ Sacrifices and Extraordinary Achievements,” will be open to all Guyanese.
The 1823 Demerara Rebellion was the first massive slave uprising in Demerara, British Guiana. It broke out on Monday, August 18, 1823, and involved an estimated 11,000 to 12,000 enslaved people from about 55 plantations on the East Coast of Demerara, from Liliendaal to Mahaica.
This uprising was an attempt by Africans to gain their freedom from an oppressive, authoritarian system that characterised the plantation economy in British Guiana. This year marks the 200th Anniversary of the uprising by these enslaved people who eventually won their full emancipation on August 1, 1838.
The planned events include an essay competition, a symposium, a community presentation, a radio and newspaper historical series, and a student tour of the revolt route.

The 1823 Bicentennial Essay competition is open to public and private school students from Grade Five to Grade 12. The organising committee has also planned a series of radio appearances between August 18 and 21 during which members of the Department will highlight the major features of the rebellion as part of their public awareness initiative.
On August 18, the day the rebellion began, a symposium will be hosted at UG and will comprise leading Guyanese academics whose presentations will focus on various aspects of the rebellion.

Presenters include Cecilia McAlmont, Dwayne Benjamin, Dr Estherine Adams and Shammane Joseph-Jackson. Professor Nigel Westmaas will focus on the Views in the News, (historical newspaper coverage of the 1823 Rebellion).
The symposium will also feature a brief award ceremony for the essay competition winners as well as cultural presentations in the form of African drumming, poetry recital, and a steelpan rendition.
The committee is also organising a historical tour, tracing the route of the uprising, and focusing on the plantations/villages involved and the locations of notable events/battles.
The commemoration activities will conclude on Sunday, August 12, the day of the Battle of Bachelor’s Adventure, with a community presentation at Parbamel Community Centre at Bachelor’s Adventure. This activity will feature a libation ceremony, a wreath-laying ceremony at the 1823 Monument in Bachelor’s Adventure, presentations on the rebellion, and drumming.
The University will also launch an 1823 Bicentennial website at the beginning of August 2023. The website will feature an overview of the revolt, historical and contemporary maps of the area and current images of the area, artist rendition of the leaders and other images related to the event, images of various monuments dedicated to the revolt, images of Rev John Smith, copies of other related primary sources from the National Archives and other repositories, past newspaper articles, etc, a bibliography, blogs, list of events and copies of the winning essays.