Samuel Sharpe

Jamaican slave revolt leader

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July 21, 2026

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Samuel Sharpe was a Jamaican slave revolt leader who organized a Christmas Day general strike in 1831. This strike, intended to demand wages and better working conditions, escalated into a widespread rebellion involving tens of thousands of enslaved people. The revolt, known as the Baptist War due to Sharpe's religious affiliation, saw plantations looted and burned before being suppressed by British troops. The rebellion was one of the largest in the British West Indies and significantly contributed to the British Parliament's abolition of slavery in 1833.12

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slave rebellions
In 1831 Samuel Sharpe led a Christmas Day general strike for wages and better working conditions. After the strikers’ demands were ignored, however, the strike turned to open rebellion by tens of thousands of slaves, who looted and burned plantations into January 1832 before being defeated by…
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In 1831 Samuel Sharpe led a Christmas Day general strike for wages and better working conditions. After the strikers’ demands were ignored, however, the strike turned to open rebellion by tens of thousands of slaves, who looted and burned plantations into January 1832 before being defeated by…
Read More