Latest / The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History / The 1733 Slave Revolt: Akwamu Rebels on St. John
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked about Tacky's War in Jamaica, the Stono Rebellion, the Haitian Revolution — but there's one revolt that's often overlooked, partly because it happened on a small Danish island. In 1733, enslaved people on St. John — then called St. Jan — took over the entire island for nearly six months. Luna: Wait, they controlled the whole island? That's incredible. Lucas: They did. And the leaders were from a specific group: the Akwamu people from the Gold Coast — present-day Ghana. The Akwamu were known as fierce warriors and had a powerful state in West Africa. Many of them had been captured in wars and sold to European traders at forts like Fort Christiansborg, which the Danes controlled. Luna: So they weren't just random captives — they had military training. Lucas: Exactly. The Danish West India Company had been importing enslaved Africans to work sugar plantations on St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. By the early 1730s, St. John had about 1,100 enslaved people and only 200 white planters. The conditions were brutal — a drought had caused food shortages, and the company was cutting rations. The Akwamu among them saw an opportunity. Lucas: The revolt began on November 23, 1733. At Fort Frederik — the island's main fort — a group of enslaved workers used a trick: they delivered firewood to the fort, but hidden inside the bundles were weapons. They overwhelmed the guards, killed most of them, and took control of the fort's guns. From there, they spread out across the island, killing planters and freeing others. Luna: How many planters were killed? Lucas: About thirty white settlers, including the island's chief administrator. The rebels then occupied the plantations and set up a kind of military government. They didn't try to leave the island — they wanted to rule it themselves. They flew the Danish flag upside down as a signal to other enslaved people. Luna: So they were trying to create their own state? Lucas: It seems so. They appointed their own leaders, including a man named King June — a name we know from Danish records. They also tried to recruit other enslaved Africans, but not everyone joined. Some were from different ethnic groups — like the Amina, which is what the Danes called Akan speakers — and there were tensions. But for a few months, they held the island. Lucas: The Danish governor on St. Thomas, a man named Gardelin, immediately asked for help. But the Danish military was tiny. He sent a few dozen soldiers, but the rebels repelled them. So Gardelin turned to the French colony of Martinique. The French Governor, the Marquis de Champigny, sent several hundred troops and militia. Luna: So it took a joint French-Danish force to put them down? Lucas: Exactly. In April 1734, the combined force attacked the rebel stronghold in the hills. The Akwamu fighters used guerrilla tactics — they knew the terrain — but they were outnumbered and outgunned. The final battle was at a place called the West End. Some rebels fought to the death; others were captured and executed. A few escaped and hid in the woods, but by late 1734, the revolt was over. Lucas: What's striking is how well organized it was. The Akwamu had a clear command structure, they coordinated attacks across the island, and they even kept some planters alive as hostages. It was one of the longest-lasting slave revolts in the Caribbean before the Haitian Revolution. Luna: What happened to the survivors? Lucas: Most were executed or sold off the island. The Danish authorities also blamed the revolt on the Akwamu as a group, so they tried to stop importing slaves from that region. But it didn't really work — the trade continued. And the revolt made the Danish colonial government tighten control. They built more fortifications, increased patrols, and passed harsher laws. Lucas: One of the lasting effects: the revolt convinced the Danes to buy St. Croix from France in 1733 — actually, the sale was happening at the same time as the revolt. St. Croix became their main sugar island, and they shifted focus there. So in a way, the rebellion changed the geography of Danish colonialism. Luna: And St. John? What's it like today? Lucas: Now it's part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. There's a national park there, and you can still see the ruins of the old sugar plantations and the fort. The revolt is remembered, but not as widely as it should be. For me, it's a powerful example of enslaved people using their own military knowledge to fight back — even if they couldn't win in the end. Luna: It also shows how the slave trade itself brought together people with skills that could be turned against the system. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's one reason we keep telling these stories — because they're part of a bigger picture that often gets ignored. If you've been getting something out of these conversations, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps them going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It makes a real difference. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to support a show that's ad-free and takes the time to dig into these details. Lucas: Exactly. So back to the rebellion — one more detail: after the revolt, some enslaved people who had not participated were given land by the Danish authorities as a reward. It was a rare case of emancipation in the Danish islands before full abolition. But mostly, the rebellion hardened attitudes. Luna: It's amazing how much history is packed into one small island. Lucas: And how much we still have to learn. Thanks for listening.