Some many years ago, Africans who escaped slavery, scattered themselves across Guyana and formed settlements where they hoped to start a fresh life, one such settlement, Baracara, can still be found on the Canje River, in regions six East Berbice-Corentyne.

Baracara also known as ‘Wel te Vreeden’ or ‘New Ground Village’ is the home to the direct descendants of the Africans who led the historical 1763 Berbice slave revolt, as such it is referred to as a maroon settlement.

In a recent ‘gyaff’ with this publication, chairman of the Community Development Council (CDC) Marshall Thompson shared a brief history of his home village.
As told by his elders, Thompson disclosed that in the early 19th century, a group of escaped enslaved Africans settled in Baracara, occupying both the east and west banks of the river.
Baracara is the only Maroon village in Guyana.

“Mostly black people live here; slave decadents and we are a self-support people.”
With a small population of just over 100 households, the residents of Baracara considered themselves to be one big family, supporting each other in their everyday joys and sorrows.
The economy of the village is based on subsistence farming and logging. The village has a health centre and a primary school, but no secondary school. Most children leave the community for secondary school once they’ve completed their primary education.
Life in Baracara, Thompson said, is ‘quiet and simple’.

The people of Baracara live humble lives and still rely on the teachings and traditions passed down to them by their Maroon ancestors.
Thompson like most villagers grew up hearing varying anecdotes of Cuffy and the Berbice rebellion and according to Thompson Plantation Magdalenenberg was located just a few miles from Baracara and traces of its existence still remain.

“If we check in some of our backdams, we see beds that were cultivated by the slaves; beds that they planted cocoa on. They were planting in different areas along the river, and that’s how they ended up settling in various places along the river.”

A GLIMPSE INTO HISTORY
It was in February 1763 on the very same Canje River more than 2,500 enslaved Africans working here revolted against the outright injustices meted out to them. And at the forefront of this massive revolt was Cuffy, the Akan man brought to Guyana to work on the sugar plantations.

Kofi Badu or “Cuffy” as he is better known, was a ‘house slave’ at Plantation Lilienberg, another plantation on the Canje River. According to historical records, on February 23, 1763, when the catastrophic events began in the Dutch colony of Berbice, it was Cuffy who managed to organise the enslaved persons into a ‘military unit’.
By his side was his lieutenants Atta and Akara.

Together, the Berbice slaves overran plantation Magdaleneburg, removing the colonial masters, and taking their freedom.
Cuffy had planned the revolt just as two shiploads of people from Africa had arrived at the docks, which significantly increased the number of Africans in the fight to overthrow the 346 colonial masters.

News of the rebellion spread like a forest fire on a hot day and soon enough uproars began at plantations across Guiana and in other Caribbean nations such as Barbados and Jamaica.
Within one month, Africans were in full command of most of the plantations in Berbice. Cuffy then declared freedom for the enslaved Africans, and they managed the plantations for almost a year. Unfortunately, after the plantations were reconquered by the Dutch, Cuffy shot himself in the head, in a bid to never submit to his enslavers.
Although their freedom did not last due to Dutch reinforcements arriving by ships with heavy machinery and artillery to recapture the slaves, Cuffy left a lasting legacy, one that the people of Baracara share with pride.