The years after the termination of enslavement presented several challenges to the newly freed population, whose members were anxious to assert their freedom.

However, the island’s ruling class had other plans. In the first instance, the organisation of the island’s administration remained exactly as it was in the era before 1838, and no preparation was made to allocate resources to the free people to enable them to assert their freedom.

Secondly, the members of the ruling class had expressed strong opposition to emancipation and the termination of apprenticeship in 1838 and were determined to maintain the social structure, attitude to their workers and labour practices that had been developed as a part of the regime of slavery which made it clear that they intended to prevent freedom of the African population.

Thirdly, the estate owners remained in control of the island’s land resources and were intent on making their plantations profitable by keeping down their labour cost with cheap labour. Fourthly and because of the former, there were no alternative employment possibilities. Hence, although the freed men and women strongly desired to escape from plantation labour, they simply could not. Fifthly, the new laws that were passed were all restrictive of the actions of the freed people and outlined punishments for those who dared to disobey. Laws were passed against any activity which was deemed a threat to the interests of the ruling class. The island was equipped with a police force to apprehend and a prison to house defaulters. There were no empowering laws for the free population, and no resource allocation for them to be provided with the means to function outside of the estates.

[caption id="attachment_1154407" align="aligncenter" width="255"] Dr Rita Pemberton -[/caption]

The intent to maintain the status quo was confirmed by the sentiments expressed by Lt Governor Henry Darling in his proclamation to the freed population on July 15, 1838. His advice to the freed people underscored the assumption that they would remain estate labourers and emphasised the qualities labourers should display to their masters’ property. He cautioned that they should be “sober, peaceable and industrious“ faithful to the discharge of duty because “to deprive your employer of any part of your time of lawful labour, whether by idleness, neglect or careless performance of your duty, is to be guilty of an act of dishonesty” which makes you “an enemy of God” and “ despised by mankind” and he implored them to “be careful, in the extreme, of any of your master’s property that may be entrusted to you.” This made it clear that there would be no social change and that the freed people would be destined to remain in bondage if they did not liberate themselves.

They engaged in actions that were not specifically stated in the laws and lay in the cracks between the laws. However, despite planter efforts to benefit their operations at the expense of the workers, the workers were able to obtain outcomes which their employers had not