Dear Editor,
We rightly depend on historians to research and tell us history. The more distant or obscure our history, the greater this dependence. The question of whether the Great 1763 Berbice Slave Rebellion started on February 23 or February 27 has been settled by historians we are told by the SN Sunday Editor, one of the very few persons with some knowledge of the subject herself. Coffy started his revolution on February 27. The revolt on Plantation Magdalenenburg on the Canje on February 23 was not after all in his master plan.
Setting the historical record straight is important, but it is not the issue I wish to address here. The SN editorial of February 27, titled ‘Commemoration,’ is correct in saying that the Mashramani celebrations may not be the proper way to pay homage and respect to the sacrifices and achievements of the 1763 revolution. The enslaved Africans accomplished an unprecedented feat: the overthrow of the colonial order and the setting up of their own national government and state. One gets a further sense of the extent of Coffy’s strategy and vision if one considers his efforts to instigate a similar uprising in Demerara (then a separate colony). Just as revealing, the option of setting up maroon communities as in Jamaica or Suriname, held no apparent interest for Coffy. His goal was far more ambitious, and involved in the end a formal free state. We must indeed find a better way to commemorate 1763.
The issue of the correct date need not get in the way. February 23 is already locked in as the date Guyana became a republic. Quite apart from its connection to 1763, the date has its own significance since 1970. The original idea, however, to recognise the 1763 revolution by linking it to Republic Day may have outlived its impact. Matters may have deteriorated to a point where the relative status of the 1763 revolution, Republic Day and Mashramani have become blurred in the minds of many Guyanese. I harbour the suspicion, for instance, that some among our younger generation may now believe that the Republic Day activities are really part of Mashramani, and not the other way around. It is not hard therefore to foresee the danger that February 23 could soon become just the date that Guyana has its carnival. All connections to our attainment of republican status, much less to the achievements and sacrifices of the freed slaves in 1763 could pale into further insignificance.
We can fix this. Let’s have a week of celebrations with distinct events to recognise Republic Day and 1763. We start on February 23, with proper events leading up to February 27. Mashramani celebrations in the various towns will provide the cultural and festive backdrop. But the significance of the commemorations must be greater than the Mash. Other activities must be organized to retain the historic significance of and connection to 1763 and 1970. We can even give the week a name, such as Liberation Week. What about Nation Week?
We have enough time to get our act together long before the 250th anniversary of the Berbice Slave Rebellion come 2013.
Yours faithfully,
Sherwood Lowe
