Bloed in de rivier

by Marjoleine Kars

A breathtakingly original work of history that uncovers a massive slave revolt that almost changed the face of the Americas

On Sunday, February 27, 1763, thousands of slaves in the Dutch colony of Berbice - in present-day Guyana - launched a massive rebellion which came amazingly close to succeeding. Surrounded by jungle and savannah, the revolutionaries (many of them African-born) and Europeans struck and parried for an entire year. In the end, the Dutch prevailed because of one unique advantage - their ability to get soldiers and supplies from neighboring colonies and from Europe.

Blood on the River is the explosive story of this little-known revolution, one that almost changed the face of the Americas.

Drawing on nine hundred interrogation transcripts collected by the Dutch when the Berbice rebellion finally collapsed, and which were subsequently buried in Dutch archives, historian Marjoleine Kars reconstructs an extraordinarily rich day-by-day account of this pivotal event.

Blood on the River provides a rare in-depth look at the political vision of enslaved people at the dawn of the Age of Revolution and introduces us to a set of real characters, vividly drawn against the exotic tableau of a riverine world of plantations, rainforest, and Carib allies who controlled a vast South American hinterland.

An astonishing original work of history, Blood on the River will change our understanding of revolutions, slavery, and of the story of freedom in the New World.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, Race, 18th Century, Africa

383 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2020

Reviews

[madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is important because nobody has studied or published about the 1763-64 Dutch Berbice slave rebellion in-depth until now -- 2020. Many of the rebellions led by enslaved people (that we know about) lasted only a short time, sometimes only days. This book details a rebellion that lasted about a year, and was so close to being won. AND this predates the Haitian rebellion by nearly THREE decades. Like, what -- to all of this. Why hasn't this story stuck with us? It's an incredible one.

I loved how the author gives nuance into the various stakeholders, hierarchies, and struggles for power -- from the enslaved revolutionaries, the Creoles, the Dutch plantation owners and slaveholders, the mutineers, and the native Amerindians. The book explores how one group manipulates or uses the other for its own gain, through violence or by other means, and how difficult it is to find freedom without somehow replicating oppression and reinventing social hierarchies. The book shows us that freedom, the fight for resources among these stakeholders, all running with their own priorities, many fueled largely by their devotion to capitalism at the expense of all else including the lives of others... this all makes for strange bedfellows and alliances.

The book is very much a scholarly work, not written for popular audiences looking for a quick, easy read. I think most people will really need to be interested in the subject matter to get through it, but it's not a long read at all. It can feel dense and I had to reread certain portions to keep up with the details, names, places, and timeline. This may speak to how well researched this book is, and to my own ignorance. The region, cultures, and events discussed were completely new to me, and my ignorance may have slowed me down. It's a fascinating story that treats the event and the human beings who were a part of it with respect and empathy.

I'm glad that I now know about this important event, and I'm grateful for the author's work in thoroughly documenting what should be a much more well known moment in human history.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the New Press for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 1763-1764 in what is Guyana today, this book typifies Man's Inhumanity to Man. While there are not a lot of pages telling of several of the slave owners and how they treated the slaves, there is enough to understand why the slaves staged a revolution. Unfortunately, the inhumanity doesn't stop there. This revolt wasn't the only slave revolt throughout the Americas, but it was the most successful and longest lasting. The self-emancipated leaders of the revolution served up their own version of brutality on the Dutch owners and their white employees. I was sorry to read that these revolutionaries also served up doses of brutality on their followers.

But then, as if they had not learned anything, the Dutch served up a large dose of brutality to many who had participated.

Some of the condemned were to have every bone broken on the rack with an iron bar, before dying from either a “mercy blow” to the heart or a merciless blow to the skull. Others were to be burned at the stake with a regular fire, which took an hour, or with “small fire,” where the victim smoldered alive for four hours. Some faced the additional torture of having their flesh ripped with hot pincers. The “lucky” ones were hanged, their heads staked.

There are a number of maps of the region which helped me understand the context. Having just read a book set in neighboring Suriname set in the same period, these were very helpful. There were also detailed maps of the placement of plantations and farms along the Berbice River for a further understanding. Scattered throughout the text were contemporary drawings exemplifying people and dress.

This is as near to academic nonfiction as I'm willing to read. There are lots of footnotes. I'm sorry to say those footnotes are almost all just citations and do not add to what is said in the text. And so I ignored them.

I try to keep my reviews to about 4-5 paragraphs. There was so much in this book that I could go on for much longer. I often wondered if a movie could be made of this story, but there are so many characters! I'm sure a good script-writer could find a way to tell the story and keep it interesting - and perhaps only allude to the brutality. We all know what man is capable of.

For me, this was not quite 5-stars, but is surely a solid 4-stars.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly an incredible bit of history and a story well told, very well researched. I will talk more about this book in days to come but for now, at one point I was surprised that the enslaved rebels didn't actually send the Dutch colonials packing. Had that happened, these people just might have reached an independence similar to Haiti but much earlier.

I'm beyond impressed.

[Martha Anne Toll]

Here’s my review on NPR Books. https://www.npr.org/2020/08/12/901229...

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the Haitian revolution that came after this. Having too much sympathy for the planter class was the downfall of the revolution. A sad tale indeed.

[Prot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great study of a nearly lost piece of history, the story is well told and very detailed, with a focus on not just the Dutch, but on the struggle of the slave rebellion as well. had a good time reading it, I reccomend it to anyone interested in Guyanese history or in the history of atlantic slavery.

[Amanda Borys · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was interesting, but there was something about the way it was written that made me unable to get into it. It read more like a text book than a book you would read for entertainment.

It did make me rethink what I knew about the Dutch, which I will admit was not a lot. But I had no idea they were so involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Very eye-opening in that regard.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - meticulous and accessible history.

[Melisende · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly information.
Fuller review to follow.

[Hans Luiten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goed boek over een grotendeels onbekend deel van de geschiedenis van de Nederlandse slavernij. Helder geschreven al had het wel iets minder uitgebreid gekund in het tweede deel. Ik heb er veel van opgestoken.

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very important - and I’d argue - the best work that exists on slave revolts in the Atlantic.

[Jason Park · Rating 5 out of 5]

A group of enslaved people took control of half a European colony for almost a year. If you haven't heard of it, you're not alone. Marjoleine Kars' groundbreaking new book is the first to give depth to the 1763 Berbice slave rebellion. My full review: https://medium.com/park-recommendatio...

[Jean Bonilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kars got off to a great start in drawing on documents in the Dutch National Archives in the Hague, including the daily journal of the colonial governor, reams of European correspondence, 500 handwritten pages of slave interrogations and letters the rebelling ex-slaves had written to the Dutch authorities to write this book. Early in 1763, slaves in Berbice revolted. The subsequent rebellion lasted more than a year and involved nearly the entire enslaved population of about 5,000 people spread over 135 estates.

There was much I did not know about the Dutch colonies on the so-called wild coast of South America – an area between the mouth of the Orinoco River and the mouth of the Amazon. The plantations in today’s Guyana were held by the Dutch West India company, not by their government. It meant that decisions about managing the slaves, whether feeding, housing, clothing, or other requirements, were all made on strictly economic grounds. It meant funds were not unlimited. It slowed the response of the Dutch government to supply troops when it became evident that the violence could not easily be contained.

Company ownership also influenced the choices made after the rebellion when some planters unilaterally declared their slaves innocent and took them all back to work for the next planting season. One actually participated as a judge at the trials of the rebels. He didn’t argue with the governor’s request that his slaves be questioned by the court; he simply packed them all onto tent boats and took them home. When he felt he needed to be back at his plantation, he went there, putting all judicial procedures on hold until his return. Governor Van Hoogenheim knew that one planter in particular, Dell, was especially violent. Several slaves in the interrogations specifically accused him as a reason for the uprising. But the governor had no legal authority to hold him accountable beyond verbal warnings. When Dell returned to his plantation, he continued his brutal tactics. After the revolt, the colony never recovered economically under the Dutch. Fully one third of the plantations were destroyed. The company itself survived thanks only to huge loans from Dutch government.

Confronting the rebels, the Dutch faced a grueling experience as they struggle to fight their way through the impenetrable jungle. Mosquitoes, vampire bats, snakes, pirañas, poisonous plants, and other tropical hazards eroded their confidence and, in many instances, killed them. The heat was so unfamiliar to them that Dutch commanders actually ordered some units not to leave their bases.

Kars’ described in some detail the typical penalties meted out by Dutch justice. As with most European justice systems, the Dutch differentiated between the wealthy and prominent and the impoverished and lower class individuals. The system did not include trial by jury. Both the death penalty and corporal punishment were rare without a confession. Those accused could be tortured to secure confessions. If you confessed, you lost your right to appeal. Executions included hanging, the rack, and the stake. Particularly egregious cases could burn by “slow fire” where the blaze purposely was kept small so you died extremely slowly. Atta, the rebel leader throughout most of the year-long rebellion, died by slow fire.

Kars includes discussion of differentiation in treatment of those who killed “Christians” and those who killed only indigenous peoples and other slaves. The planters treated the former more harshly. She also notes that many rebels accused each other of eating their enemies. Investigation of these claims seemed to establish that the Ganga tribe had this practice in Africa and continued it in Berbice.

I didn’t know that Demerara sugar came from a region of today’s Guyana. The plantations of Demerara were located northwest of the area where the rebellion was underway. The leadership of Demerara provided some support and help to the leaders of Berbice in their efforts to control the slave revolt. First a colony of the Dutch West India Company and then of the Dutch state from 1792 to 1815, Demerara was merged with neighboring unit Essequibo under the British and became part of British Guiana in 1831. In 1966, Guyana achieved its independence.

Unfortunately, despite a strong historical narrative throughout the book, Kars falls flat a little at the end. She attempts to link the revolt in Guyana with slave, risings, slavery, and political movements in other parts of the world. Linkages should be made, I agree. Nevertheless, her description was rather disorganized and poorly edited - a disappointing end to an otherwise readable account of a little-known event.

[Ad Pluijmers · Rating 4 out of 5]

⁷Bij ‘onze’ koloniale activiteiten in de noordkust (de Wilde Kust) van Zuid-Amerika denken we meestal alleen aan Suriname. Maar in de 17e en 18e eeuw waren er meer in zee uitmondende rivieren die gebruikt werden om kolonies langs te stichten. Ten westen van de Suriname rivier waren dat bijvoorbeeld ook de Essequebo, de Demarary en de Berbice. De kolonie langs deze laatste rivier werd op een gegeven moment ‘eigendom’ van de Sociëteit van Berbice, die opereerde onder de Nederlandse Republiek door middel van de West-Indische Compagnie (WIC).

In 1763 vond in Berbice een grote slavenopstand plaats tegen de Nederlandse overheersers. Ontevreden slaven probeerde eerst door overleg betere voorwaarden te krijgen, maar dat werkte zoals gebruikelijk niet. Onder leiding van een paar gedreven slaven ontwikkelde deze opstand zich in een strijd van een jaar tussen de diverse betrokken partijen: uit West-Afrika overgebrachte in opstand gekomen slaven, lokale inlanders, Nederlandse plantagehouders en directeuren onder leiding van de gouverneur, ingevaren soldaten uit Nederland en hulptroepen uit buurkolonie Suriname (die bang waren dat de opstand zou overslaan). Naast het grote aantal slachtoffers van tropische ziektes kwamen er nu ook vele mensen om in de strijd.

Over de periode van de opstand is heel veel documentatie bewaard gebleven: gedetailleerde verslagen van de gouverneurs en van kapiteins van slavenschepen en troepentransportschepen en vooral van alle rechtszaken die na de opstand tegen de opstandelingen zijn gevoerd. Marjoleine Kars, de schrijver van dit boek, heeft van deze Nederlandse archieven en van bestaande literatuur gebruik gemaakt om een ongelooflijk gedetailleerd maar toch leesbaar verslag te maken van de opstand. Het boek bevat vele illustraties en kaartjes. Gruwelijke details worden niet geschuwd (de opstandelingen kopieerden uiteraard het gedrag waar zij al jaren aan waren onderworpen en gaven de Nederlanders een ‘koekje van eigen deeg’).

Na een jaar van schermutselingen gaven de ‘rebellen’ het op. Ze konden hun eerste snelle overwicht niet omzetten in een overwinning en hadden op een gegeven moment moeite om in hun bestaan te voorzien door het continue opgejaagd te zijn. Het werd daarna een hele opgaaf om de gevangengenomen strijders te onderscheiden van slaven die min of meer neutraal waren gebleven en zo nu en dan de plantagegronden voor hun eigenaren hadden bijgehouden of op z’n minst zich afzijdig hadden gehouden. De rechtszaken waren natuurlijk ‘gekleurd’ door de belangen van de plantagehouders die ‘rechtspraken’ (geef je opstandelingen van je eigen plantage de doodstraf, of zie je de mogelijkheid om deze arbeidskrachten voor eigen gewin te behouden?).

Zoals alle kolonies werd het beheer ervan erg beïnvloed door de politieke situaties en oorlogen in de Europese thuislanden: tussen de Nederlanders, de Britten, de Fransen, de Spanjaarden en de Portugezen. Dat resulteerde in wisselende eigenaren van de kolonies. In 1831 gingen Demerary-Essequibo en Berbice samen op in Brits-Guiana, wat nu de Coöperatieve Republiek Guyana heet.

[Darnoc Leadburger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to start this review with my usual disclosure: this is not my normal field of reading. My opinion of it is probably a little lower than it would be if I loved this kind of stuff. Since I'm more of a science fiction reader, this doesn't especially tickle my fancy. That being said, a family friend who reads a lot of nonfiction gave this to me because he was just going to get rid of it, and as a writer I like a good history book every couple of months. This was the first time I'd heard of this particular slave revolt, so I didn't go in with any prior knowledge. To sum up my next couple of paragraphs, I thought it was a really well researched and well-told chronicling of the events.

This book starts out with a little snippet of our author's travelling experience when writing this book. I liked this little vignette, and I would've liked to have heard more about her contemporary journeys. After that, we're introduced to the mid-18th-century Berbice river and its plantations, both Dutch-Company-owned and privately-held. We meet the governor (van something, but I've forgotten and my book is upstairs) and hear about how the slaves lived from day-to-day. Nothing is overly graphic, just matter-of-fact; that stands for the entire book. It's a pretty straight telling of the facts with little moralizing by the author. Sure, there are some digs at the Europeans, but nothing excessive or entirely undeserved. Better than one or two of the histories that I've read.

I will admit to getting pretty bored during part of this section, but I think that's also because I didn't get enough sleep the night before and I was a little unfocused. My attention was grabbed again when everyone went to war, and I was invested with the rest of the book. It was an interesting - if predictable - little war. I wasn't very emotionally invested since I wasn't familiar with the subject material and facts are presented somewhat (but in no way wholly) dryly. I really don't know what else to say about this; it'll be my shortest review in a long time.

Final score: 7/10. May not be another 4/5 star review, but I swear that my three stars are saying that this was a good book. A well-researched and thought out presentation of a forgotten cranny of history is nothing to turn your nose up at. Still, it didn't inspire me like some other nonfiction books did, but it did keep me entertained and it did teach me a few things. I don't know what my next piece of nonfiction may be, but I do know that it could be a lot worse than this.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent book covers a little known slave rebellion in the Dutch colony Berbice (currently Guyana) on the Wild Coast of South America in 1763. Kars has done extensive research, including recently recovered Dutch records about the rebellion, and pieced together the amazing story of this nearly successful revolt. The Dutch had company run colonies and privately own plantations along the Berbice River. Physical abuses and insufficient nourishment finally became intolerable to the enclaved population. The revolt spread widely along the river, and the badly outnumbered Dutch colonists faced extinction. Coffij, who identified as African Amina, was the leader of the rebellion. Dutch records of their interaction with the rebels reveal a leader of surprising sophistication. Although there were ghastly atrocities on both sides (beheadings were punishment of choice), Coffij initiated a peaceful negotiation in which he proposed that the rebels would take control of half of the Dutch Bernice holdings. The beleaguered Dutch governor stalled for time, while trying to control the unruly surviving colonists and begging for assistance from Holland or neighboring colonies. In the meantime, the rebels disagreed on how to proceed, and the excellent leader Coffij committed suicide as an act of dignity in the face of failed negotiations. The rebels held out for nearly a year. They were overcome by European reinforcements and native Indians aligned with the Dutch as well as division and general starvation. Kars writes clearly and effectively and constantly reminds the reader that the written records of the event were produced by the enslavers. She draws on the diary of the Dutch governor extensively and the court records of the trials of the surviving rebels. She explains the complex relations and distinctions of newly arrived African slaves, local born slaves and native Indians who tried to play off the various groups. Large colonies of Maroons, escaped slaves who formed their own communities, also loomed in the background. Kars explains some of the behavior of the rebels through African customs and attitudes and distinguishes among African tribes. You are aware of the vast diversity of the populace along the Berbice and the truly remarkable, and nearly successful, attempt at freedom. This is a story that should become much more widely known.

[Erik Champenois · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Blood on the River" is the history of a slave rebellion that succeeded in 1763 in Berbice, Guyana for a full year. A Dutch colony, Guyana was at that time one of those colonies where enslaved people vastly outnumbered the enslavers. The rebellion, which started on a plantation managed by a particularly cruel plantation owner, led to much of the colony being taken by the enslaved, before the Dutch could receive reinforcements from the Netherlands, Suriname, Amerindians, and others to eventually crush the rebellion.

The rebels, in control of a large amount of territory, negotiated with the Dutch for a division of Guyana into two territories, one held by them and one by the Dutch. Had they been successful, Guyana could have become the first formerly enslaved, black republic, but instead Haiti became so a few decades later. One of the interesting reasons for their eventual lack of success, as the author points out, is that unlike the Haitians, who were able to draw on Spanish assistance (and unlike the Americans, who were able to draw on French assistance), the Berbice rebels had no significant external allies that they could draw on for support.

P.S. This book made me want to really delve into Suriname's history, given the history of a significant maroon presence in Suriname that served as an example to the Guyanese rebels. Suriname's maroon community remains today as a significant percentage of the country's population - and a civil war between the Maroons and Suriname's army even took place as recently as 1986-1992. Longtime dictator and later democratic president Bouterse and his son have both been convicted of drug trafficking - the latter serving sentence in the U.S. Somebody needs to write a 500+ page comprehensive history of Suriname's history - a book I am very interested in reading!

[Kabaal van Napels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerising, jaw-dropping and unputdownable. Highly recommended.

“Blood on the River: A Chronicle of Mutiny and Freedom on the Wild Coast” by Marjoleine Kars tells the story of a slave revolt in Berbice, a Dutch colony in Guyana in 1763. Based on newly discovered documents, the author has managed to re-construct the revolt with incredible detail and saved an important story from the mists of time. Although the focus is on the story and the dynamics of the revolt itself, the writer also explains the complex micro-cosmos of the Dutch colony on the “Wild Coast” against the backdrop of a global economic system that included the transatlantic slave trade.

Although the book makes for uncomfortable reading at times, the author has done an incredible job in bringing the Berbice, its people and the revolt of 1763 to live. The stories are gruesome, the characters believable and the dilemmas of individuals gut-wrenching. As a result, I found “Blood on de River” mesmerising, jaw-dropping and unputdownable. It is a riveting read about an important but almost forgotten part of the Dutch colonial past. It also shows that an immoral system underpinned by continuous violence never sustains. Sooner or later people decide to risk a terrible end over endless terror.

In summary, I cannot recommend “Blood on the River” highly enough to anybody interested in history, either European, African or South-American.

The Dutch review will follow shortly

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The motivation of reading this book is heard that it won Candill history prize and it could be the supplmentary of my interest in colonialism. This book is acturally written in a such story-telling way but also objective.It focused on a small area-Berbice, Guyana.The history of Berbice has been unknow for such a long time.That the writer chose this place as the representative of the colonial history is an interesting and creative thing.
The most inspiring thing in this book is useing the pellucid way to let the readers know about what happened in two sides,Dutch colonialists and the locals.The story was told by the chronological order,and with the happening of the series of things which led to the tragic ending but also beginning,i know more about the situations which were invloved in the area of economics, politics and cultures from both side.
For me, absolutely the writer has her standpoint, and i agreed with it, but this book also left a space for readers to consider about what you read and what you knew from it ,and then make your own decision.

[Adrian]

Kars comes upon a trove of documents detailing a little known slave rebellion in Dutch Guiana in 1763 and turns this barebones evidence into a worthwhile history. The revolt lasted one year. The Dutch administration was stretched thin by disease and the rebels retreated further into the jungle to evade recapture. Much of the war the Dutch outsourced to Amerindian groups who were far better tracking the enemy than the Dutch. Then the Dutch faced a mutiny from their own sailors some of whom ended up joining the slave rebellion. Eventually Amsterdam responded with the forces necessary to bring the revolters in. Ironically it was a pair of slaves who quit the rebellion early who found and recaptured the leaders of the revolt. Justice for the rebels was predictably grisly. Interesting nook of history.

[David Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written, impeccably researched account of an obscure but telling chapter of colonial oppression. Reads like a page-turner, with vivid characterization. The aspects that surprised and compelled me most were

A) The sheer hubris of the Europeans in thinking they could constrain and abuse an entire population without repercussions while maintaining something like a 1-to-25 overseer to slave ratio. On most plantations, all it took was one white person taking a shopping trip for the whole power dynamic to risk collapse. The Dutch got away with it through deft manipulation of the AmerIndian population and a jungle environment different enough from Africa’s that survival in the bush was a dicey proposition.

B) The speed and enthusiasm with which liberated slaves adapted European brutality to their own ends. Most slaves continued to be slaves, only now with African masters.

[Jeroen Somhorst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iedereen die zich een beetje intereseert in het recente slavernijverleden van Europa weet van de revolutie van Haitti. De enige met success uitgevoerde opstand door tot slaaf gemaakte tegen hun onderdrukkers.

Dit boek verteld het verhaal van de opstand in Berbice een Nederlandse nederzetting in het huidige Guyana. Het boek is helder geschreven en ondanks de vele namen doet is het niet oeverloos complex of onduidelijk.

Op het einde is het even goed nazoeken wie ook alweer was maar dat is voor de oplettende lezer geen enkel probleem. Wat het boek goed doet, mijns inziens, is dat het probeert uit te leggen hoe dat deze rebellie is ontstaan maar ook hoe dat deze eigenlijk implodeerde.

Een must read voor iedereen die meer wil weten over de slavernij

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few readers will bother to read this academic history of the Berbice Slave Rebellion that took place in Guyana in 1763-4, but everyone should read it! There are two kinds of citizens in this world--those who know world history and the short-sighted ones who think about yesterday and perhaps the day before. The narrative of the Dutch on the Wild Coast is a historical peephole, a snapshot of Colonialism changing our world forever. There are two kinds of people in this world, those who understand Colonialism and those who do not. Read Blood on the River and figure it out.

Why is Guyanan history important? International interest in Guyana exploded in 2015 when vast oil deposits were discovered there, mainly off-shore. History marches on.

[Sandra Guilfoyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a very interesting account of the slave uprising in A Dutch Colony in South American. It takes place in the mid 1700’s in what is now know as Guyana. A group of poorly treated slaves, band together and are able to rise up against their plantation owners and their managers. It was a difficult time for both the Dutch and the African people. I especially enjoyed the fact that this uncovered piece of history had always been there, although not revealed until this author researched it and put the pieces together. I especially liked the fact that she was able to get information from other sources than the Dutch who were in authority.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well-researched work details a little-known slave rebellion in 1763. As an educator, I have often had to correct students who claim that enslaved persons never fought back. This book is an engrossing story of not only how they fought back, but the lack of historical weight given to those stories. Stories of slave rebellions are purposefully kept out of textbooks, making this text even more critical. I look forward to using excerpts with my classes.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the New Press for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting look at of slave revolt in the Americas, told from an often overlooked corner of the continent. It helpfully examines the complexities and contradictions of the uprising in a way that doesn't downplay or excuse the violence and horror of slavery, colonialism, European criminal "justice", or global capitalism, unfortunately a rarity these days in popular understanding of these issues (slavery itself seems to be growing increasingly blamed on Africans!).

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well researched, clear narrative of an 18th century slave rebellion in a Dutch colony. The failures of the Europeans fits within the still going assumptions of the superiority of whiteness. Also at work in the narrative is a carefully study of class dynamics and the fears of the Dutch bureaucrats that the soldiers would seem themselves in rebels.

[Wilco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goed geschreven non fictie boek over de slavenopstand in Berbice, zoals Guyana in 1763 heette. Een voor mij onbekende geschiedenis, die inzicht geeft in hoe slavernij daar functioneerde met al haar verschrikkingen. Het boek leest als een spannende roman. He leest ook, dat zoals nog steeds, veel schuldloze vluchtelingen slachtoffer worden van een conflict.

[June P. Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative

I enjoyed learning about the history of Guyana. As a Guyanese, I was unaware of many of the things that were mentioned. I knew about Coffi and the rebellion but not the details. This book piqued my interest to learn more of Guyana history.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this volume. I went into this book with no real knowledge of the history and time period of the country. The author's research is excellent, and she thoroughly explains the historical events in an interesting manner. Highly recommend reading this volume at a leisurely pace.