As Guyanese joined others in the former British Empire, marking the 185th Anniversary of Emancipation, which by Proclamation happened on 1st August 1838, one of the most defining periods of the immediate post emanciaption period was The Village Movement.
The Village Movement is the name given to the period beginning just after the abolition of slavery in 1838. It is the time freed Africans in Guyana bought plantations on which they were previously kept in bondage, and converted them into free villages. The Movement spanned about nine years.
Experts say Guyana, as we know it, was born during that time. Experts say, too, that The Village Movement not only provided a place for former slaves to live, but also established a Guyanese African identity.
Noted historian and former President Brigadier (ret’d) David Granger, says Emancipation paved the way for “The Village Movement,” which was more than about Africans leaving the white-owned plantation, but about Africans developing an identity for themselves.”
Granger said, “The Village Movement wasn’t just a physical movement, but a reassembly of the family. Built on four pillars: 1) was the family, they wanted homes; 2) they wanted to build their own farms; 3) they wanted to build their own churches; and 4) they wanted to build schools.”
The Movement started on November 7, 1839, Plantation Northbrook, now named Victoria village, was purchased by 83 free men and women from five plantations; Ann’s Grove, Dochfour, Enmore, Hope and Paradise. The downpayment was $6,000; the total price was $10,000.
Following the purchase of Victoria, by 1840, four communal villages were established in West Coast Berbice. Golden Grove, 500 acres, was purchased by 14 labourers for $1,716; St. John, 252 acres, was purchased by 46 labourers for $5,000; East half of Perseverance, 250 acres, was purchased by 109 labourers for $2,000 and Lichfield, 500 acres, was purchased by one labourer, Cudjoe McPherson for $3,000.
A second phase of purchases began in 1842. During that time, Plaisance was purchased by 65 labourers for $39,000 and Ithaca was bought by 45 labourers for $15,000. And so the purchases continued until it tapered off around 1848.
Experts have underscored the fact that The Village Movement had strong spiritual and educational components.
Once a plantation was purchased, one of the first acts by the former slaves was the construction of a church and a school in the new village. Dwelling cottages were built around those institutions of spirituality and education.
Historians have repeatedly emphasised that The Village Movement is the major process that established modern-day Guyana; it shaped our country population distribution and made a major contribution to our national cultural identity.
Further, it gave Africans, in particular, a sense of purpose and reminded them that they can do anything to which they set their minds.
It is worth reminding ourselves of the resilience of the former slaves who, through determination and force of will, asserted the humanity that the system of slavery sought to take away. And in the process of doing so they shaped the future of a country. It is also worth reminding ourselves, too, that what was accomplished once can be done again.
