Free Villages facts for kids

Free Village was a special type of community in the Caribbean, especially in Jamaica. These villages were started in the 1830s and 1840s. They gave land to people who had been freed from slavery. This meant these people could live independently, away from the control of plantation owners. English Baptist missionaries in Jamaica came up with this idea. They collected money in Great Britain to buy land. This land was then given to freed people after slavery ended in 1838. Plantation owners did not want to sell land to freed people. They wanted them to keep working on their farms for low pay. Free Villages often grew around a Baptist church. Missionaries also helped set up schools in these new communities.

Starting the Free Village Idea

Starting in the 1830s, people in Jamaica began preparing for the end of slavery. Jamaican Baptist church groups, leaders, and ministers worked with an English Quaker named Joseph Sturge. He was against slavery. Together, they started the idea of Free Villages in the Caribbean.

Many plantation owners said they would never sell land to formerly enslaved people. They only wanted to offer housing that was tied to working for them. Their goal was to stop freed people from choosing where to work. They also wanted to keep labor costs very low after slavery ended.

To get around this, leaders of the mostly African-Caribbean Baptist churches worked with their Baptist and Quaker friends in England. They secretly bought land in Jamaica through agents in London. This way, plantation owners wouldn't know. They wanted to own land in Jamaica to create Free Villages. These villages would be independent of the old plantation owners.

For example, in 1835, a British Baptist pastor in Jamaica, Rev. James Phillippo, helped. His African-Caribbean church group used land agents and bankers in England. They quietly bought land in the hills of Saint Catherine parish. The plantation owners didn't know about it.

Once slavery ended, this land was offered to freed people. It was divided into smaller plots. They could rent these plots cheaply or even buy them to own completely. This allowed them to live freely, away from their former masters. Phillippo's success in Saint Catherine encouraged him. He started another Free Village in Oracabessa later that same year.

Jamaica's First Free Villages

The very first Free Village, or Baptist Free Village, was at Sligoville. It is in Saint Catherine parish, about ten miles north of Spanish Town. It was named after Howe Browne, who was the Governor of Jamaica when slavery ended.

Henry Lunan, who used to be an enslaved headman at Hampstead Estate, bought the first plot of land in Sligoville. In 2007, a special plaque was put up at Witter Park in Sligoville. This was done on May 23, during a Labour Day event, to remember Jamaica's first Free Village.

Another important Free Village, Sturge Town, was founded in 1838. It is still a small rural village today, about ten miles from Brown's Town in Saint Ann Parish. Some say it was the first free village in the Western Hemisphere, but it was officially registered second.

This village was named after Joseph Sturge (1793-1859). He was an English Quaker and a strong opponent of slavery from Birmingham, England. He helped start the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. Joseph Sturge worked his whole life for peace, workers' rights, and the freedom of all enslaved people. He helped pay for the purchase and settlement of Mount Abyla. This land was divided into village lots and sold to 100 families.

After enslaved Africans were freed in 1834, they helped build two churches in Sturge Town. These were Phillippo Baptist Church and New Testament Church of God.

Other Free Villages

Many other Free Villages were started in the Caribbean. They were often created with the help of Nonconformist churches. In Jamaica, some of these villages include:

• Buxton: Named after Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, an English person who worked to end slavery. Funds were raised through the Baptist church of Rev. John Clark, with help from Joseph Sturge.
• Clarksonville: Named after Thomas Clarkson, another English person who fought against slavery. This village was also arranged through Rev. John Clark's Baptist church.
• Goodwill: Located near Saint James parish. It was arranged by Rev. George Blyth, a minister from the Scottish Missionary Society, and funded by his church. This village had special rules set by Blyth.
• Granville: In Trelawny, named after Granville Sharp, an English person who worked against slavery. This village was arranged through Rev. William Knibb's Baptist church.
• Kettering: Named after the town where William Knibb was born.
• Maidstone: Arranged by Moravian missionaries. Even today, some people in Maidstone have the same family names as the first settlers.
• Sandy Bay: A small village by the sea, between Lucea and Montego Bay. It was started as a Free Village for freed slaves in the mid-1830s. It was an idea from the Baptist pastor Rev. Thomas Burchell. His church deacon was Sam Sharpe, who was executed in 1832 after a slave rebellion. He died fighting for freedom. Today, the village's playing field is named 'Burchell Field' after the missionary.
• Sligoville: Known as the first free village in Jamaica.
• Sturgeville or Sturge Town: Eight miles from Brown's Town, named after Joseph Sturge.
• Trysee: An early Free Village in the Brown's Town area. Its name might come from "try and see."

In the Bahamas, some Free Villages include:

• Adelaide
• Carmichael
• Gambier: Settled by Elijah Morris.

Many Free Villages were named after important British men. This might have helped raise money in England. However, the Jamaican Baptists and Joseph Sturge were often seen as "radicals" because of their strong beliefs, not part of the main political groups.

One village was even named after Anne Knight, a female Quaker who fought against slavery. This was a brave step, as it honored women who were active in social change when it was not common for them to be involved in public life.

No Free Villages were named after the new African-Caribbean local leaders. However, free Jamaicans became deacons in many Baptist churches. They also ran schools and public services in churches when an English-trained minister was not available. For example, Henry Beckford served in this way at Staceyville.

Life for Freed Workers After Slavery

The idea of Free Villages was a quick success, and many were set up. But their creation depended on raising money in England. This money came from Baptists, the Quaker Joseph Sturge, and other Christian groups who were against slavery.

For freed people who continued to work on the old plantation estates, life could still be very hard. Some escaped to live in communities in the hills, like the Maroon communities.

An English Baptist minister arrived in Jamaica for the first time in 1841. He was surprised by how difficult the situation was after slavery ended. He wrote: "I have heard many stories of cruel acts by the overseers. The people know that their lack of knowledge is taken advantage of. So, they come to their ministers for help and advice. In some cases, their wages were not paid for months. Then, they were told to pay rent for their homes, which were on the very land where they had been working. Last week, an overseer, just because he felt like it, kicked a family out of their home without warning, even though they had paid their rent."