St Kitts and Nevis National Reparation Committee has shared a post commemorating two extremely important milestones in the history of St Kitts and Nevis. The first political event is the start of the colonization of the west indies island by the Britishers, which marks almost 400 years on January 28. Meanwhile, January 28, 2023, also completes 88 years of the Buckleys Uprising, which took place on January 28, 1935.
St Kitts and Nevis Reparation Committee commemorate the two events in history. They provided a detailed account of the historically critical days. The committee also urged the people to learn about the history of St Kitts and Nevis and remember the history of St Kitts and Nevis. They wrote:
Not a day to celebrate a day of commemoration yet.
This coming Saturday is a strangely unique day. It is a major day in the history of this Island. The anniversary of two significant events in St. Kitts’s history!
400 years ago, the British colonization of the Caribbean began on the Island called Saint Christopher by the navigator Christopher Columbus who had claimed the Island for Spain without ever setting foot on the Island. The beginning of a brutal history of colonization and slavery.
Twas on January 28 1623, on the Island, called Liamuiga, the Kalinago chief Tegreman stood on the beach on the Island’s west coast of the Island. As he looked out toward the sea, he saw some strange-looking ships approaching the Island. He waited there and watched as a gallantly dressed man alighted the vessel. The man would introduce himself as Sir Thomas Warner. England would have given him the royal authority to settle the Island. He and his entourage would seek the guidance of the Kalinago people, who treated them quite well.
Alas, the Kalinago Chief Tegreman did not know that he had just welcomed the man who would kill him and most of his people three years later.
For the next major event, The reparation committee urged the people to fast forward to January 28 1935, just over 100 years after the abolition of slavery. The changes in laws did not too far remove life from the conditions under which enslaved people worked except for the meagre wages the employers paid them.
Dorbridge, the estate manager, denied the cane cutters at Buckley Estate an increase in wages. Following this, the cane cutters, men and women who needed to feed their families, decided to burn cane fields and lead an uprising which would spread through the IslandIsland. A major uprising led to the labour movement and trade unionism throughout the region.
On Saturday, St Kitts and Nevis will celebrate the 88th anniversary of the Buckleys Uprising will be held. The call for creating a place of memory for this significant event continues. #beapartofit #buckleysuprising
