By Precious Mills
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Sunday 29th January 2023)- “Now this spark was like a beacon, and you know how a beacon is to a sailor; seas are rough out there and they are frightened but when they see the beacon, the sea could tumble up and go on how it like…calmer now to steer a ship because they see the light…and the light for the rest of the Caribbean was the Buckley’s Uprising that happened right here…right here!” So said well-known local educator Leonard Stapleton during his presentation at the 88th anniversary event of the 1935 Buckley’s Uprising held Saturday 28th January at Buckley’s Estate Grounds in the west Basseterre community under the theme ‘Recognising, Embracing, Restoring and Preserving the Legacy of Our – LOCAL NEWS5 Martyrs of the Buckley’s Uprising 1935' which was organised by the Nyabinghi Theocracy Order.
Speaking about the issues affecting the workers at that time, Stapleton shared: “The workers of this estate were faced with a critical thing happening to them. There was the chance for the owners – to pay the workers a decent wage …the worst time not to give St.
Kitts people pay. So, we have to go back to 1934 because that was when the trouble start. Christmas coming up; people are accustomed to their little bonus…Imagine when the children looking for a little thing for Christmas, the parents can’t deliver that after working hard all year?” He informed that during that time trade unionism was outlawed.
“They couldn’t even organise as a group to complain; you had to come as if you were a benevolent society,” he noted. As understood from him, the uprising was “like a war zone which got the attention of the world.” “They wanted peace but none of them thought that the workers wanted justice,” he commented with the popular reggae tune ‘Equal Rights’ by the late Peter Tosh of Jamaica played for that segment of his presentation.
These are the values entrenched at this site and at this event that took place here .The whole Caribbean that is free and even want to get freer by becoming republic, they owe it to this event that took place here. They had to call in the war ship from Bermuda…
That is when you know you have the attention of Great Britain…” “I want to leave a message here because people think freedom is easy. Freedom was not easy ; real freedom is paid for with blood sweat and tears…” he said.
On another point raised, Stapleton spoke about the formation of the Labour Union (with the right to form unions) and also the right to vote (Adult Suffrage) which stemmed from the recommendations from the uprising event.“The right to vote was not automatic. You had to be able to earn $200 a year when people getting seven cents a day…” As gathered, a certain amount of owned real estate was another requirement in being able to vote.
He added: “When 1952 came about-Adult Suffrage when you could go and vote even though you brokes, you had to know that there was a time when poor people couldn’t vote, and because of the Buckley’s Uprising, it was not just only people in St. Kitts and Nevis who were able to vote; is people all over the Caribbean were able to vote.” The educator encouraged: “We have to say this; the children must know it , and when we walk out in the world, the people have to say ‘Thank you’…” Stapleton applauded the Nyabinghi team for “putting the message out there” over the years.
He urged persons to check the national archives and newspapers of the day to learn more about the 1935 Buckley’s Uprising event. Front Page Photo: Well-known local historian Leonard Stapleton during his presentation at the 88th anniversary event of the 1935 Buckley’s Uprising held Saturday 28th January at Buckley’s Estate Grounds (Photo credit: Livingston Huggins)
