Uncovered: South America's Biggest Slave Uprising

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

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Summary

On February 27 1763, thousands of enslaved people in the Dutch colony of Berbice—in present-day Guyana—launched a huge uprising against their oppressors. Surrounded by jungle and savannah, the revolutionaries—many of them African-born—effectively controlled the colony for a year as they resisted European attempts to overthrow them. In the end, the Dutch prevailed because of one unique advantage—their ability to call upon soldiers and supplies from neighbouring colonies as well as from Europe. This little-known revolution was the biggest in South America’s long and dark period of enslavement, one that almost changed the face of the Americas. Yet the efforts of the mutineers have largely been overlooked—until now. To shine a light on the uprising that came so close to success, Dan is joined by Marjoleine Kars who is professor of history at the University of Maryland in the US. Marjoleine is the author of Blood on the River: A Chronicle of Mutiny and Freedom on the Wild Coast, which helped uncover the workings of this little-known yet crucial rebellion. The book has won multiple awards, including the Cundhill History Prize, and has been described as an astonishing work of original history.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone, welcome to Downsnow's History Hit.
0:02.0	The Kundal History Prize is the biggest prize for historical writing anywhere in the world.
0:07.2	A gigantic amount of money goes to the worthy winner of the Kundal Prize every year.
0:11.0	History Hit are delighted to be a partner broadcasting partner for the prize,
0:14.5	and this year it was won by Marielena Kars.
0:17.9	She has written the most brilliant book about a slave uprising,
0:22.8	an uprising of enslaved people on the North Coast of South America,
0:27.2	the so-called Wild Coast, next to what became British Guyana, next to Suriname,
0:32.5	at the southern edge of the Caribbean.
0:34.4	This wasn't uprising, there had basically been lost to history,
0:36.8	it was known about, particularly known about, within Guyana today,
0:40.3	but it was considered a bit of a footnote.
0:42.3	She found an amazing, hesitant, unexploded archive of sources, in the Netherlands.
0:47.6	She was able to go where previous historians had feared to tread,
0:50.9	and it contained transcripts of interviews with rebels,
0:54.4	or with soldiers, with colonial officials.
0:57.2	The entire uprising, lasting more than a year, suddenly,
1:00.6	she was able to shine light on the entire uprising.
1:03.4	It all began in February 1763, thousands of enslaved people.
1:07.6	In what was the Dutch colony of Burbees,
1:09.9	launched a huge uprising, its oppressors, they drove them off,
1:13.8	they killed them, they captured some, it is an amazing tale.
	...

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