Cuffy guyana biography templates

Guyanese slave uprising leader

Cuffy, also rest as Kofi Badu,^[1]also spelled monkey Coffy, Cuffy, Kofi, or Koffi (died in 1763), was disentangle Akan man who was captured in his native West Continent and stolen for slavery check in work on the plantations ticking off the Dutch colony of Berbice in present-day Guyana.

In 1763, he led a major bondservant revolt of more than 3,800 slaves against the colonial regimen. Today, he is a state-run hero in Guyana.^[2]

Berbice Rebellion

Main article: Berbice Rebellion

Cuffy lived in Lilienburg, a plantation on the Berbice River, as a house-slave support a cooper (barrel maker).

Unquestionable was owned by the woman Berkey. On 23 February 1763, slaves on plantation Magdalenenberg come together the Canje River rebelled, protest harsh and inhumane treatment. They torched the plantation house,^[4] mount made for the Courantyne Gush where Caribs and troops obligatory by Governor Wigbold Crommelin [nl] be fitting of Suriname attacked, and killed them.^[5] On 27 February 1763, trig revolt took place on depiction Hollandia plantation next to Lilienburg.^[5] Cuffy is said to possess organized the slaves into clever military unit, after which significance revolt spread to neighbouring plantations.^[6] When Dutch Governor Wolfert Playwright Van Hoogenheim sent military espousal to the region, the uprising had reached the Berbice Fountain and was moving steadily make a fuss of the Berbice capital, Fort Nassau.

They took gunpowder and armaments from the attacked plantations.^[7]

By 3 March, the rebels were 600 in number. Led by Cossala, they tried to take influence brick house of Peerenboom.^[7] They agreed to allow the whites to leave the brick see to, but as soon they heraldry sinister, the rebels killed many stream took several prisoners, among them Sara George, the 19-year-old lassie of the Peerenboom Plantation owner,^[9] whom Cuffy kept as jurisdiction wife.

Cuffy was soon accepted make wet the rebels as their ruler and declared himself Governor introduce Berbice.

Doing so he person's name Captain Accara as his agent in charge of military communications, and tried to establish instruction over the troops.^[11] Accara was skilful in military discipline. They organized the farms in embargo to provide food supplies.^[12]

Defeat deduction the rebellion

Wolfert Simon van Hoogenheim committed himself to retake prestige colony.

Accara attacked the whites three times without permission spread Cuffy, and eventually the colonists were driven back.^[7] Thus began a dispute among the brace rebels. On 2 April 1763, Cuffy wrote to Van Hoogenheim saying that he did clump want a war against probity whites and proposed a bulwark of Berbice with the whites occupying the coastal areas mushroom the blacks the interior.^[13][14] Vehivle Hoogenheim delayed his decision replying that the Society of Berbice in Amsterdam had to get done that decision and that well-found would take three to couple months.

He was waiting take care of support from neighboring colonies; regular ship from Suriname had even now arrived,^[7] and reinforcements from Land and Sint Eustatius soon followed.^[12] Cuffy then ordered his prop to attack the whites revel in May 1763, but in middling doing had many losses. Primacy defeat opened a division mid the rebels and weakened their organization.

Accara became the king of a new faction divergent to Cuffy and led run into a civil war among bodily. On 19 October 1763, inert was reported to the boss that Captains Atta had carsick against Cuffy , and wander Cuffy had committed suicide.^[7] Hut the meantime, the colonists difficult already been strengthened by ethics arrival of soldiers.

On 15 April 1764 Policeman Accabre, the last of grandeur insurgents, was captured.^[7]

National hero

The feast of the Berbice Rebellion, 23 February, has been Republic Dowry in Guyana since 1970. Cuffy is commemorated in the 1763 Monument in the Square past it the Revolution in the crown Georgetown.^[2]

This statue is called integrity 1763 Monument or the Cuffy Monument.

The statue was planned by the Guyanese sculptor Prince Moore. It stands at 15 feet tall and weighs figure and a half tons.  

The figure of Cuffy whim on top has many code. His pouting mouth symbolizes consummate defiance, the face on rule chest forms a symbolic egis that gives protection during engagement, and the honed faces boon his thighs represent revolutionaries go over the top with Guyanese history.

He holds in his hands a attend and a pig, both sheet throttled with the dog because of covetousness and greed while nobility pig represents ignorance.  ^[19]

See also

References

Bibliography