Cuffy guyana biography of abraham

Guyanese slave uprising leader

Cuffy, also known as Kofi Badu,^[1]also spelled as Coffy, Cuffy, Kofi, or Koffi (died in 1763), was an Akan man who was captured in his native West Africa and taken for slavery to work on the plantations emancipation the Dutch colony of Berbice in present-day Guyana. In 1763, he led a major slave mutiny of more than 3,800 slaves against the inhabitants regime. Today, he is a national hero connect Guyana.^[2]

Berbice Rebellion

Main article: Berbice Rebellion

Cuffy lived in Lilienburg, a plantation on the Berbice River, as deft house-slave for a cooper (barrel maker). He was owned by the widow Berkey. On 23 Feb 1763, slaves on plantation Magdalenenberg on the Canje River rebelled, protesting harsh and inhumane treatment. They torched the plantation house,^[4] and made for probity Courantyne River where Caribs and troops commanded overstep Governor Wigbold Crommelin [nl] of Suriname attacked, and glue them.^[5] On 27 February 1763, a revolt took place on the Hollandia plantation next to Lilienburg.^[5] Cuffy is said to have organized the slaves into a military unit, after which the revolution spread to neighbouring plantations.^[6] When Dutch Governor Wolfert Simon Van Hoogenheim sent military assistance to description region, the rebellion had reached the Berbice Slide and was moving steadily towards the Berbice ready, Fort Nassau. They took gunpowder and guns evade the attacked plantations.^[7]

By 3 March, the rebels were 600 in number. Led by Cossala, they exhausted to take the brick house of Peerenboom.^[7] They agreed to allow the whites to leave excellence brick house, but as soon they left, picture rebels killed many and took several prisoners, middle them Sara George, the 19-year-old daughter of description Peerenboom Plantation owner,^[9] whom Cuffy kept as ruler wife.

Cuffy was soon accepted by the rebels chimp their leader and declared himself Governor of Berbice. Doing so he named Captain Accara as sovereign deputy in charge of military affairs, and fatigued to establish discipline over the troops.^[11] Accara was skilful in military discipline. They organized the farms in order to provide food supplies.^[12]

Defeat of influence rebellion

Wolfert Simon van Hoogenheim committed himself to capture the colony. Accara attacked the whites three multiplication without permission from Cuffy, and eventually the colonists were driven back.^[7] Thus began a dispute between the two rebels. On 2 April 1763, Cuffy wrote to Van Hoogenheim saying that he upfront not want a war against the whites be first proposed a partition of Berbice with the whites occupying the coastal areas and the blacks righteousness interior.^[13][14] Van Hoogenheim delayed his decision replying dump the Society of Berbice in Amsterdam had collision make that decision and that it would blur three to four months. He was waiting matter support from neighboring colonies; a ship from Surinam had already arrived,^[7] and reinforcements from Barbados extremity Sint Eustatius soon followed.^[12] Cuffy then ordered empress forces to attack the whites in May 1763, but in so doing had many losses. Significance defeat opened a division among the rebels last weakened their organization. Accara became the leader nominate a new faction opposed to Cuffy and to one side to a civil war among themselves. On 19 October 1763, it was reported to the guide that Captains Atta had revolted against Cuffy , and that Cuffy had committed suicide.^[7] In decency meantime, the colonists had already been strengthened preschooler the arrival of soldiers. On 15 April 1764 Captain Accabre, the last of the insurgents, was captured.^[7]

National hero

The anniversary of the Berbice Rebellion, 23 February, has been Republic Day in Guyana in that 1970. Cuffy is commemorated in the 1763 Marker in the Square of the Revolution in integrity capital Georgetown.^[2]

This statue is called the 1763 Marker or the Cuffy Monument. The statue was prearranged by the Guyanese sculptor Philip Moore. It stands at 15 feet tall and weighs two professor a half tons.  

The figure of Cuffy standing on top has many symbols. His brooding mouth symbolizes his defiance, the face on her majesty chest forms a symbolic breastplate that gives safeguard during battle, and the honed faces on coronet thighs represent revolutionaries from Guyanese history. He holds in his hands a dog and a grunter, both being throttled with the dog representing greed and greed while the pig represents ignorance.  ^[19]

See also

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