The efforts to work and plan, to sacrifice and contrive under the yoke of slavery, witnessing death through the parallel experiences of physical occurrences and the mental fatigue of hopelessness , could not have been a simple burden to fetch. But, with the dawn of Emancipation, it must have been concluded that the Gods have not forsaken their prayers, many had died in resistance, and some still dwelt in the surrounding forest lands. Thus, they had kept hope alive and planned. Resisting the pains of the culture that enveloped them, fighting back in diverse ways, subtle and at times facing the fatal results of uprisings and skillful sabotage. Then, upon the passing of Emancipation, as they revealed their secret savings and collectively bought failed plantation after plantation, they could not have immediately conceptualized that they were now at ‘Total-War’ with the Plantocracy who more or less controlled the colonial administration.

With the passing of abolition 1834 an illegal subvention of labour was imposed on the shoulders of the former enslaved, that of ‘Apprenticeship’ a continued four years of servitude, to end in 1838. To resist the planter’s resentment of paying wages, this was symbolically protested against by the former slave Damon of La Belle Alliance, who raised a symbolic flag for true abolition, for this he was hung publically to the front of the Public Buildings. It was the idea of John Gladstone, owner of plantations and member of the British Parliament. To replenish the plantation workforce through Indentured –workers, to this he turned to India, another British colony. The colonial administration, which the planters controlled, agreed. “ Between 1842 and 1848, the mechanics of a less restrictive scheme were worked out and some 24,848 (Indentured) immigrants were introduced between 1846 and 1848 alone. It is important to note that, by this time, public funds amounting to £ 232,100 had been spent on (Indentureship) immigration , for the years 1846-1848 alone, and all of this was raised by taxation, and the manner in which the revenue was being spent, produced fertile growing discord between the African and planter communities. James G. Rose – Themes of African Guyanese History.

The villages were subject to paying taxes to the administrative authorities, who were the Plantocracy; towards drainage works etc. This taxation was not subject to the Plantocracy, who were exempted from taxes. However, taxes, were directed mainly to undermine the independence of the villages. Rather than address the crucial drainage demands of the villages, the Plantocracy who held the political authority represented their overseas interest, in collusion with successive governors, undermined the villages by using their tax payments to finance Indentureship. Thus, required drainage works were ignored, resulting in the flooding of the villages, the loss of livestock, farms, malaria and dysentery took a toll on infant mortality, thus, as intended, beginning the process of political disempowerment of the villages. The villages were subject to impositions of Taxes while been deprived of the means to earn. Many proceeded to Georgetown and the mining areas to survive. This process resulted in the massive 1905 riots in Georgetown.

This following excerpt was prepared with an objective on the state of Indian indentureship, however, the writer reflected holistically, into the late 19th century. By Mukesh Kumar of the Indian History Congress.
On the tainted legacy, of the Plantocracy.

“On the whole, in the 1920’s, despite their many shortcomings, the estates did infinitely more to protect the health of their Indian labourers than the colonial authorities did for the villagers. The miserly, often inadequate contribution of the former looks good against the ‘puny efforts ‘ of the government, ‘a standing reproach to any community. The villagers had to pay a fee at Government hospitals; the sick had to travel long distances over impassible roads. In addition, as the Surgeon General reported in 1922 and 23, sanitation in the villages were ‘backward’ the residents reduced to an aquatic existence during the heavy rains, because of a lack of drainage.

The conflict to curtail the rise of the African subjects of the colonies and of Africa itself are significant, beyond being mere Colonial bourgeoisie succeeded to some levels, the colonial system was unapologetically racist. A propaganda campaign of narratives, visuals and social creeds beginning with product art-work of advertisements, to children books and religious illustrated books, with a rewritten pseudo-academic history of human existence began to grow stems in the minds, creating a subliminal layer of inferiority complexes. That would create self- blame in the face of external oppression, but this did not work with the totality expected, over the past century-plus. The process of self-redemption is a tremendous task, but many have paved the way to make it easier and concise.