PROFESSOR Winston McGowan, A.A. gave a lecture entitled “Slave Rebellions at Sea and on Land: A Comparative Study” on Thursday afternoon in the Rupununi Room of Hotel Tower in Georgetown.
Professor McGowan was introduced by the Head of the History Department, in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Guyana, Ms. Cecilia McAlmont.
In his lecture, Professor McGowan began by exploring different aspects of slave rebellions in general, including those of active versus passive resistance, and the issue of the differing scales of rebellions with a focus on Caribbean societies.
He stated that there has been comparatively little literature and scholarly research on slave rebellions at sea due to the fact that most slave-ship captains did not record incidents of rebellion in the ship’s log. Rebellions at sea usually reflected negatively on a captain’s efficiency and their ability to control the slaves, thus putting his future career in jeopardy.
During his lecture, McGowan touched on several points of comparison between slave rebellions on land (with a specific focus on the Caribbean region) and slave insurrections onboard slaving vessels.
Among these points were the planning of rebellions; the leadership of them; the timing of the insurrections; and the varying durations of different rebellions in different territories in the Caribbean and in the Guianas. Attention was also paid to some of the root causes of slave rebellions, both on land and at sea, and the consequences of the rebellions, from freedom and autonomy in some cases and severe physical punishment in others.
Professor McGowan also looked at the success rates of slave plots, and examined in some depth, some of the causes for the very high failure of these conspiracies. He attributed it to the vigilance of the colonial slave masters, inadequate planning by the slaves, and betrayal of the plotters by favoured slaves.
The conclusion of McGowan’s lecture is that while there were many similarities between land and maritime slave insurrections, the differing elements typical to each were extremely disparate. However, both types of rebellions were, ultimately, expression of the slaves’ desire to free themselves from the oppressive state of slavery.
Some brief questions from members of the audience on the theme of slave rebellions in general and the lecture, in particular, were answered by the Professor. Final Year History Student, Ms. Mischka White gave the vote of thanks.
Professor McGowan has been a lecturer in the Department of History of the University of Guyana since October 1970 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1980, then Professor in 2000. His main areas of teaching are African and Guyanese History, the History of Slavery in the Americas and the History of Revolutionary Change.
He has served the University in several other capacities. These include the position of Head of Department of History, Coordinator of the History Department’s M.A. Degree Programme in Guyanese and West Indian History, editor of its periodic publication, the Guyana Historical Journal, Coordinator of its newspaper column, “History This Week” and Chairman of the University’s Board for Graduate Studies.
He has occupied the Walter Rodney Chair in History at UG since March of last year.