Sam Sharpe was born a slave in 1801 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Daddy Sam Sharpe, as he was called, was an educated slave. He was permitted to go to school, and then he became a Baptist deacon. He was well-respected by other slaves, and he preached over them. Naturally, because of the respect bestowed on him, he became the leader of the slaves he preached to. Being a deacon, he also had the chance to travel to other areas, educating other slaves and enlightening them about Christianity. Aside from spreading the words of the bible, he also educated the slaves about freedom.
During Sam Sharpe’s time, Jamaica was under British rule. Erroneously believing that Great Britain has finally emancipated the slaves in Jamaica, he organized a peaceful general strike. The slaves in a lot of towns heeded his call and went on strike. The idea was not to return to work until their demands were met. Their major demand was that they be paid for their services. However, what started as a peaceful strike turned into a rebellion when the slaves’ demands were ignored. Almost 60,000 slaves took part in the strike and the subsequent rebellion that lasted for 10 days.
Because of the number of the participants of the strike, the government, composed of plantation owners, clamped down hard on the rebellion. After the struggle, around 500 slaves were killed. Half were killed during the rebellion itself, while the rest were killed after the rebellion. Slaves were executed for even the tiniest infraction.
Daddy Sam Sharpe is known as a very intelligent deacon and one of the leaders of what was called the Christmas Revolution of 1831. Even before the Jamaican flag was created and flown, Sam Sharpe already championed its ideals.
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