Tom Zoellner
Tom Zoellner is the author of nine nonfiction books, a professor at Chapman University, and an editor-at-large of The Los Angeles Review of Books. Island on Fire: Inside the Demise of Slavery Revolts of enslaved people were common occurrences in the British Caribbean, considered unpleasant realities by the ruling elite, which sought to put them down quickly and re-establish sugar production as soon as possible. But one led by Samuel Sharpe in 1832 in northwestern Jamaica was enough to cause the whole institution to crumble within eighteen months. Why was this revolt different? And what set of circumstances lay behind Parliament's decision to abolish slavery for good?
Island on Fire: Inside the Demise of Slavery
Revolts of enslaved people were common occurrences in the British Caribbean, considered unpleasant realities by the ruling elite, which sought to put them down quickly and re-establish sugar production as soon as possible. But one led by Samuel Sharpe in 1832 in northwestern Jamaica was enough to cause the whole institution to crumble within eighteen months. Why was this revolt different? And what set of circumstances lay behind Parliament's decision to abolish slavery for good?
This event is part of the Fall 2025 Speaker series.
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