James Phillippo facts for kids
James Phillippo (born 1798 in Norfolk, England, died 1879 in Spanish Town, Jamaica) was an English Baptist missionary. He worked in Jamaica and fought to end slavery. He served there from 1823 until his death. He also traveled to England to raise money for his work. James Phillippo helped start several "Free Villages". These were places where formerly enslaved people could live. They received land for farming, free from plantation owners. He also wrote three books about Jamaica.
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Early Missionary Work in Jamaica
Phillippo was one of a few Baptist missionaries sent to Jamaica in the 1820s. They were told not to speak about slavery. Plantation owners relied on slavery for their sugar cane farms. Most people on the island were of African descent.
Phillippo arrived in Jamaica in 1823. At this time, Britain had already banned the Atlantic slave trade in 1807. In 1823, ideas to end slavery itself were discussed in the British Parliament. These ideas were not accepted at first.
Even so, British missionaries in Jamaica faced criticism. Plantation owners, the press, and the government accused them. They believed missionaries were working with those against slavery. They thought missionaries wanted to ruin their businesses. Plantation owners did not want missionaries teaching enslaved people. They felt that teaching the Bible made enslaved people unhappy with their situation. Some people even burned down missionary churches and schools.
In 1823, over 300,000 enslaved people still lived in Jamaica. The law stopped them from practicing any religion. But Phillippo still worked to build places of worship. He preached Christianity to enslaved people.
He was often told he could not preach to enslaved people. He also received threats of prison and death. But he kept going. He set up new chapels, schools, Sunday schools, and Bible classes. He preached in villages where his ban was not known. Enslaved people were very excited by his preaching. Large crowds came to church. In 1825, the British Missionary Society allowed Phillippo to preach to enslaved people.
In 1827, he started a church in Spanish Town. This town was then the capital of Jamaica. This church is still active today and is called the Phillippo Baptist Church.
In 1831, Phillippo became unwell and returned to England. In 1832, he heard about a slave uprising in Jamaica. This event was known as the Christmas Rebellion. Houses were burned, and the army was called in. Several missionaries were arrested. Angry plantation owners destroyed ten Baptist churches and mission houses. The government stopped the uprising quickly. More than 200 enslaved people were killed. Leaders of the uprising, like Samuel Sharpe, were executed.
Fighting Against Slavery
Phillippo's first public stand against slavery was in England in 1832. He spoke at a meeting for the BMS World Mission. He and another missionary, William Knibb, described slavery. They talked about the rebellion and how many enslaved and free Black people had accepted Christianity. They also shared how missionaries had been treated badly in Jamaica.
Phillippo returned to Jamaica in 1834. He joined William Knibb and Thomas Burchell. They worked to help formerly enslaved people become independent farmers. They worried that plantation owners would still try to control them after slavery ended.
Free Villages and Freedom
A very important idea from Burchell and Phillippo was the system of Free Villages. Phillippo bought land for these villages. He often used others to buy the land, as owners would not sell to him directly. In these villages, newly freed people could live and build homes. They would be safe from being forced off their land. Phillippo personally promised to repay all the money borrowed. He then gave the land to the mission.
He started new churches in each village. He also opened Sunday schools for religious study and day schools for general education. He helped train and hire teachers. Sligoville, a farming community near Spanish Town, was the first Free Village. Phillippo started it in 1835. This was before all enslaved people were fully free three years later. After Sligoville's success, Phillippo started other Free Villages. These included Oracabessa and Sandy Bay.
Slavery officially ended on August 1, 1834, with the Slavery Abolition Act. But it was not until 1838 that all enslaved people were truly free. The celebration of freedom on August 1, 1838, was a joyful time in Spanish Town. Many formerly enslaved people attended. Governor Sir Lionel Smith asked Phillippo to lead a procession. The Baptist Church and about 2,000 schoolchildren marched to Government House. There, the Proclamation of Freedom was read to over 8,000 people.
In 1842, Phillippo, his wife Hannah, and their son Edwin sailed to England. They said it was for health reasons. But Phillippo also used the trip to ask the Missionary Society for money. He wanted to build a new school and college called Calabar College. This was a type of seminary for training religious leaders. He had planned it with Knibb and Burchell. Calabar College later became Calabar High School in 1912 and is still open today. While in England, Phillippo traveled a lot. He gave talks to raise money for the college. He also finished writing his first book. The Phillippos returned to Jamaica in December 1843.
Later Life and Legacy
The trip in 1843 was Phillippo's last big journey abroad. He stayed in Jamaica for the next 35 years. He never stopped preaching. He traveled all over Jamaica to share his message. When his wife, Hannah, died in 1874, he moved to a small house near Kingston. He continued his missionary work until he retired in 1878. He died on May 11, 1879, in Spanish Town, at age 81. He was tired from a long, hard life in a difficult climate.
James Phillippo was buried with his wife and daughter. Their graves are across the street from his beloved Church in Spanish Town. He had built that church 50 years before his death. He lived to see the end of slavery on the island. The Jamaican people respected him greatly. His funeral was a huge event. Thousands of formerly enslaved people came, along with politicians, religious leaders, and business people.
Besides his work as a minister and human rights champion, Phillippo wrote three books about Jamaica. The most famous one is Jamaica: Its Past and Present State (1842). He wrote this while recovering in England.
Phillippo and his wife had nine children. Five of them died when they were young. Their son George Phillippo became a successful lawyer and politician. He was even knighted for his service.
Many of James Phillippo’s family members still live in Jamaica. One of his great-great-grandsons is the well-known author Colin Simpson. He owns the historic Golden Clouds villa in Oracabessa.
