This central square of Montego Bay celebrates the Baptist minister who challenged slavery on Jamaica.
At the heart of the Georgian bustle of Montego Bay, Jamaica's second city, lies Sam Sharpe Square. While it's not the grandest square you'll ever find, this busy, cobbled part of the old port town has seen some truly ground-shaking history. Many believe that actions in this small corner of the world helped trigger the end of slavery in England – and eventually the world. And the man leading them gave his name to the square: Baptist minister, Samuel Sharpe.The Square doesn't just bear his name. It also has several monuments to the man, his actions and those who followed him. Sam Sharpe was a slave in the 19th-century who became a Baptist minister, and preached against the evils of slavery. In Christmas 1831, he led peaceful strikes to push the plantation owners to end it. They responded with brutality, and the strike became an open slave rebellion by 60,000 slaves across the island.The British rulers of Jamaica quickly crushed the poorly armed slaves, and hundreds were killed – among them Sam Sharpe. He was sentenced to death, and famously said "I would rather die among yonder gallows, than live in slavery." But accounts of the brutality, so readily meted out by the slave-owners, helped those opposed to slavery to win the debate in Parliament. Slavery was finally banned in 1834 across the British Empire.The best-known feature of the Square is the statue to Sam Sharpe, preaching with Bible in hand to his fellow slaves standing around him. This monument to the National Hero of Jamaica was erected in 1983. Nearby is the Freedom Monument, inscribed with the names of all those who supported the 'war of emancipation' from slavery.And across the road is the former courthouse, where Sam Sharpe was sentenced to death. It is now the Civic Centre, and houses an art gallery, a performance centre and a museum – quite a transformation. Another building to undergo radical change is The Cage. Once a holding pen for criminals, drunks – and runaway slaves – it now sells souvenirs. That's certainly a transformation Sam Sharpe would have approved of.
