Jamaica is terribly important to the first British Empire, which is westward facing an Atlantic. But by the mid 19th century the western is no longer counting quite the same way. Empire is increasingly moving eastwards and southward. In 1869 with the opening of the Suez Canal, the route to India is much faster. That drives Britain towards an informal empire in the Middle East because we have to control access to the Suez canal. And also if you think about the geography we need also control of East Africa because of the Red Sea route out into the Indian Ocean.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rebellion that broke out in Jamaica on 11th October 1865 when Paul Bogle (1822-65) led a protest march from Stony Gut to the courthouse in nearby Morant Bay. There were many grounds for grievance that day and soon anger turned to bloodshed. Although the British had abolished slavery 30 years before, the plantation owners were still dominant and the conditions for the majority of people on Jamaica were poor. The British governor suppressed this rebellion brutally and soon people in Jamaica lost what right they had to rule themselves. Some in Britain, like Charles Dickens, supported the governor's actions while others, like Charles Darwin, wanted him tried for murder.
The image above is from a Jamaican $2 banknote, printed after Paul Bogle became a National Hero in 1969.
With
Matthew J Smith
Professor of History and Director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at University College London
Diana Paton
The William Robertson Professor of History at the University of Edinburgh
And
Lawrence Goldman
Emeritus Fellow in History at St Peter’s College, University of Oxford
Producer: Simon Tillotson