THE year 2012 marks the 50th Anniversary of the publication of the novel, ‘Ratoon’. This time in our history also marks an anniversary of the subject of the book: The 1823 Demerara Slave Revolt. The novel was released in 1962, when Guyana was troubled by racial strife, reasons enough to revisit the book. There were many critical moments in the history of the enslaved people of Guyana contributing to the proclamation of freedom on August 1, 1838.  One of the more crucial events leading to Emancipation was the Demerara Revolt of August 1823.
Of course, historians and social scientists have examined (and will continue to examine) that event. But, so far, there is only one major fictional reconstruction of that event, and that is the historical novel titled ‘RATOON’, written by a prolific Guyanese author, Christopher Nicole.
‘Ratoon’ is based on an improbable romance birthed in the hearts of two humans, but it was a love where ‘ratooning’ was constrained by social factors. However, the two protagonists — a White female plantation heiress and a black male slave and freedom fighter/rebel leader — were able to consummate their love on the battlefield, in the heat of the slave uprising, and its swift defeat by government’s forces.
Nicole used this improbable romance to reconstruct one of the most defining revolts of enslaved Africans in the British West Indies. This revolt, labelled variously as ‘the Demerara Revolt’, ‘the Mahaica Revolt’ or ‘the 1823 Demerara Slave Uprising’, was spawned by the promise of freedom and freedom delayed.
There were many other factors spawning that revolt, such as the inherent desire for freedom, overwork due to a decline in labour force, increased hours of work, the switch from cotton cultivation to sugar and personal grievances.
Religious considerations played a major role in the revolt. There were subtle ways employed the plantation management to restrict the enslaved from attending church, including working on Sundays, teaching from the Bible that portrayed all men as equal in the sight of God, and the story of the deliverance of Jews. Some of the enslaved revolted for complete freedom, while others wanted Sundays off and additional days of rest.
In August 1823, thousands of slaves from about fifty-five sugar plantations on the East Coast of Demerara banded together by their erroneous belief that freedom was already granted to remonstrate. What actually happened was that the British parliament dictated to the planters ways of ameliorating the living and working conditions of the enslaved. That decree was another effort in the fight for complete emancipation following on the heels of abolition of the slave trade in 1807.
After the abolition of the slave trade, there was a tightening of the screws on available labour force, which meant the condition of slaves worsened. The awful condition of slavery on the Demerara plantations was graphically described by Rev. John Smith in his journal covering the years (1817-1824) he lived, leading up to his death, in British Guiana.
He described the long hours of labour in the field, from sunrise to sunset, ending the day with slaves fetching fodder from the backdam to the stables. Smith also reported how those who attended his church were persecuted, and that inhumane whipping was the order of the day, with some slaves receiving hundreds of lashes each day.
Posted to British Guiana, Smith and his wife sailed from Liverpool, arriving in Demerara on February 23, 1817. Apart from the rough welcome from the muddy Demerara River, Smith was greeted by Governor Murray with the ultimatum which forbade him  teaching the slaves; if he did, then the governor threatened to banish him immediately from the colony.
Despite that warning, Smith revived the mission station (Bethel Chapel) at Plantation Le Ressouvenir vacated by Rev. John Wray. Smith’s evangelism was an instant success. He preached to large congregations often spilling out of the chapel. That response encouraged him to start a class preparing slaves converted to Christianity for catechism and baptism.
Of course, he raised the ire of the governor and many planters. So, at the time of the insurrection, in 1823, it was not difficult for Smith to fall foul of the law of the land. Martial law was imposed, hundreds of slaves were butchered, many hung and displayed in public for months, and John Smith was arrested.
A frail and sick man, he was incarcerated for some seven weeks, then tried in a court martial lasting some twenty-eight days. He was condemned to death. A reprieve by the Home Government was granted, but before this news reached the Colony, he died in prison from consumption.
Although Smith’s work was influential in the revolt, it was the Christianised slaves who planned and executed the revolt; slaves like Jack Gladstone, Quamina, Seaton, Manuel and Richard of Plantation Success, Telemachus and Joseph of Plantation Bachelor’s Adventure, Sandy of Plantation Non Pareil, and Paris of Plantation Good Hope.
Against that backdrop, Nicole placed his main invented characters, Joan Dart, heiress to the plantation, and Jackey Reed, Christianised slave and leader of the revolt. The novel also included the role of John Smith and Governor Murray.
The novel opens with a family feud over Elizabeth Plantation House, giving also a graphic picture of slave life and massa days, building up to the slaves’ discontent and failed revolt, and ending with Joan Dart regaining control of Elizabeth Plantation House.
The book covers events from Thursday, July 24 to Friday, September 19. The actual start of the revolt was August 18, and by August 20, it had fizzled out.

(To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)

What’s Happening:
•    The current issue of The Guyana Annual magazine will be dedicated to Braithwaite. Tributes, reviews of his publications, and related articles are invited for possible inclusion in the magazine.
•     Look out for the airing of an interview on my television programme ‘Between the Lines’ with E. R. Braithwaite this Sunday night, September 2, on NCN; check press for exact time of airing.