Dear Editor,
I refer to Dr Nigel Westmaas’ article, “Summarizing the 1856 ‘Angel Gabriel’ Guyana Riots” in SN 3-20-22, and would appreciate if he could provide the source of his statement on the anti-Portuguese violence, precipitated by James Orr, alias, the “Angel Gabriel”.
To wit, “One report stated that “Creoles, sometimes accompanied by East Indians and African immigrants, broke the windows and door of shops, consumed or dumped barrels of liquor… and that women and children were especially prominent in the raids.”
In my extensive reading of West Indian and Indian Immigration history, this is the first time I have seen a claim that Indian Immigrants were involved in the “Angel Gabriel Riots”. After all, immigration had only resumed a decade earlier in 1845 after the experimental 1838 batch. The majority of Indian immigrants would have been legally confined to the immediate vicinity of the estates. This was enforced by the imposition of the need for a written “pass” from the estate manager , bereft of which they were arrested and jailed. By 1856, even the 5-year time-expired immigrants who had decided to remain in British Guiana would have reindentitured for another 5 years and remained in the estate logies, since they were free. Any “rioting” Indian immigrant would have have risked the wrath of the plantation management in addition to that of the state to attack Portuguese shops in the nearby villages.
More pertinently, I am perplexed why they would express anger towards Portuguese shopkeepers who were lowering prices to undercut the Creole shopkeepers since, at that point, Indians had not obtained a single license to own a shop?
Looking forward to hearing from Nigel.
Yours sincerely,
Ravi Dev
