I WAS invited and aware of this author’s visit and the event at the Theatre Guild. However, based on some advice from a colleague who also intended to be at the Guild, I was confused by the new arrangements. However, it was rectified and neutralised; circumstances interrupted, and I didn’t make that tremendous rendezvous. Nevertheless, I had witnessed an active YouTube presentation the previous evening, which I enjoyed very much. I’d bought Marjoleine Kars’ book, ‘Blood on the River’ from Austin’s Book Services about two years ago.

The subject of Kofi’s revolution has been a constant subject for many years, as it should be with every Guyanese. Berbice preceded most of the known revolutions in the Americas, and it was not a mere slave rebellion; it was a revolution that revolved around the military quest for separate recognition of nationhood, along with social and commercial agreed ordinances.

That this book was from a Dutch author was more than significant. The accepted norm was that most of the information about the Berbice Revolution was destroyed when the Germans bombed the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, at the onslaught of WWII, and the Marine Museum was said to have been destroyed. But I have since learnt that many records remained within the hold of families and other private institutions.

When I wrote the tropical Gothic folk story, ‘Legend of the Silk Cotton Tree’, the 1763 Revolution was the active backdrop. The first book that came into my hand was ‘Revolution to Republic’ by my foster grandfather, P.H. DALY, 1970, which I’d had for years. But it was not a historical record of 1763; it was more a record of our national evolution, through struggle. So, I turned to the second-hand booksellers, De Younge of Bourda Market, and a popular second-hand bookseller at the northern entrance of Stabroek Market. But it was Ovid Holder of the then Universal Bookstore who helped me out with an offer. He had bought a book collection from the wife of a top legal public servant who had passed.

I bought some of those books that included several issues- of the Journal of the British Guyana Museum and Zoo that were pointed out to me, including ‘The Story of the Slave Rebellion in Berbice etc; translated by Walter E. Roth, B.A. This proved effective enough for detailed storytelling. Local Historians followed. But Madam Kars’s book was not going to be passed. This lady had no Queen or Church to preview what she wrote, as many other past writers would have been subject to.

The 1763 Revolution in philosophy contained ‘The Legend of the Silk Cotton Tree’ that included a Warlock of Dutch origin. To this, I would have liked to have some clarification on whether there was a stipulation to the nature of religious conduct required of Dutch planters. The Netherlands was a place that free thinkers headed for in the 17th & 18th Centuries. Would a character like the Warlock have been able to own a plantation in Berbice? Because all the folklore concerning the hidden Dutch wealth of precious metals I have explored began with dreams of Dutch visitations, perhaps there’s a mood that invites such harsh fantasies. I extend considerable thanks to the initiative for bringing that author, and initiating such a discussion among our young people, especially.