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Emancipation Day is celebrated on the first of August every year here in Barbados and is in recognition of the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of those slaves who were still in captivity on the sugar plantations at the time.
Barbados has always been a rather peaceful country, despite slavery. Barbados is the only island in the Caribbean never to be taken over by another Empire, for we remained British until our independence. There has never been any civil wars fought here and Barbados has not been involved in any international wars either. However, there was one slave revolt recorded although very little is known about it.
The one lasting legacy to come out of the slave revolt is the name of a man, a slave, called "Bussa", the slave who is said to have led the revolt. Apparently he rose up against his master and encouraged many other slaves within his plantation and beyond, to do the same. This led to a revolt by the slaves and a great deal of strife on the part of the planters.
Once the revolt was over he was contained, captured and imprisoned, probably severely beaten as well. He was not put to death and legend has it that he was not faint hearted and refused to give in, rose up once more, bursting his chains and escaping to freedom, nobody is quite sure just how this was done.
The funny thing about this story is that there are no records of a man named Bussa, or anything remotely close to Bussa, having ever existed on any plantation or slave log anywhere on the island.
The records have been combed through time and time again. As far as factual history can tell, Bussa never existed. However, the revolt was very real and someone had to have led it and as far as the other slaves and the decedents of the slaves know, a man named Bussa led it.
Barbados now recognizes Bussa as a national hero and there is a statue of him on the Emancipation Roundabout, commonly known as the Bussa roundabout, in Haggatt Hall, St. Michael. Every year crowds gather there on Emancipation Day to celebrate the freedom finally and justly granted to an entire race of people.
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