Counterpoints: Selected Essays on Authoritarianism and Democratization Book

Emilia Viotti da Costa chronicles the Demerara slave rebellion in British Guiana on the Demerara plantations, and the situation which had been developing in Britain, which ultimately affected the plantations and fostered an environment for the rebellion. Da Costa sets the scene, explaining that the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade, the debate in Great Britain about the amelioration of slavery, the Haitian slave revolts, the struggling economy in which the planters depended on all contributed to the state of the Demerara plantations. Add on missionaries, such as John Smith, who many believed was not qualified to preach at Demerara, was attracted to evangelicalism, who endangered the colony's safety by educating slaves, and the situation is brought to a head. Da Costa does a superb job of not only setting the tone for the rebellion, but for illustrating through the situation in Demerara the debate of the day, and the challenges facing the British, colonists, missionaries and slaves.
Da Costa utilizes mainly primary sources such as periodicals, letters, depositions, the journal of John Smith, and other church and trial records to analyze the Demerara slave rebellion. Of course her greatest challenge is the fact that whites tell this story. Just like James H. Sweet's Recreating Africa and John K. Thornton's The Kongolese Saint Anthonty accounts of slave movements, or religious movements are often written by those who are most powerful, which for Demerara were the colonists. Yet Da Costa is able to write effectively about the era, and analyze sources so that the reader can understand the implications for all parties involved in the rebellion.