Devon Dick

The reporting of the recent fire that destroyed the Morant Bay Courthouse revealed yet again media bias against Paul Bogle.

A search of the numerous newspapers of the 19th century will not reveal when Paul Bogle made the 45-mile trek from Stony Gut to Spanish Town or what he said or believed but that he was a rebel.

And not much has changed. Take for example, the recent Jamaica Observer's front-page story 'History destroyed'. That paper made a commendable effort to put the fire in a historical context but unfortunately it revealed bias against Bogle and his followers.

Typical colonial spin

The report said, "Large group of mainly farmers were armed with sticks and machetes, marched on the courthouse on October 11 and a few people in the crowd threw stones at the local militia."

This is the typical colonial spin. It is strange that they were armed with "sticks and machetes" and no mention that they were armed with stones but all of a sudden a few of them threw stones.

If the report is true that they threw stones, then it should have read that they were armed with "sticks, machetes and stones".

Furthermore, it seems strange that a group of farmers, approaching armed militia who had guns, decided to throw stones. They would be suicidal.

Even the Bible story about David using a stone to slay the giant Goliath, had it that David was acting in self-defence.

I do not believe that Bogle and his followers threw stones first. In fact, the official colonial report, The Jamaica Royal Commission Report did not say that they threw stones first. In addition, there are accounts by missionaries that claimed that it was the militia that fired first and the people tried to defend themselves.

Interestingly, there were missionary accounts that claimed that Bogle and his people were carrying their agricultural tools of sticks and machetes. In other words, just like farmers today who walk with their machetes, these peasant farmers were walking with the tools of their trade. There was no violent intent!

But not so claims the Observer editorial, which stated that our forefathers waged a violent struggle. Our forefathers walked 45 miles with resolutions for the governor asking him to provide work. Was that violent?

Paul Bogle and 17 others wrote a letter in October 1865 begging the governor to release them from an oppressive custos. Was that violent?

Bogle and his followers told the authorities that they were going to march to the courthouse on October 11, 1865. Does that sound like a people planning to be violent?

Killing by authorities

Amazingly, nowhere in both newspaper accounts, was there a mention that the authorities were violent. In fact, the front-page story mentioned that the custos was killed and several members of the militia but no mention that Bogle's people were killed.

I am not sure what number is "several" but I have not seen any record that claimed that even 19 persons were killed. However, Bogle scholar, Dr. Clinton Hutton of the UWI, estimated that 2,000 peasants were killed. I have read first-hand accounts in missionary documents that said that up to 3,000 peasants were killed.

One newspaper reportsaid that there were eight miles of bodies and the stench was awful. Professor Gad Heuman of Warwick University published in 1994 The Killing Time: The Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica. The thrust of the book was that it was killing time by the authorities.

Now tell me, who was violent? The postgraduate work I did in 1997 has turned up enough evidence to vindicate Paul Bogle of being a violent person.