Main actors of the slave rebellion

• Main actors of the 1816 Rebellion:

  • BUSSA: literate elite slave at Bayley’s Plantation in St. Philip, considered one of the main planners of the rebellion, spread the message of fighting for freedom
  • NANNY GRIGG: literate domestic slave at Simmons Plantation, believed in armed self-liberation, encouraged others to fight for freedom
  • Other leaders: JACKY, KING WILTSHIRE, DICK BAILEY, JOHNNY THE STANDARD BEARER, JOHNNY THE COOPER, all slaves, assisted Bussa in planning the rebellion and spreading the message of fighting for freedom
• Bussa received more leisure time, better diets, housing, and clothing than other slaves, allowed to travel freely to organize social events used for planning resistance
• Bussa and other literate slaves monitored the progress of the anti-slavery movement in Britain and informed other slaves through reading discarded newspapers and listening to plantation owners' discussions