Reasons for failure

• Reasons for the failure of the 1816 Rebellion:

  • The rebellion started prematurely when a drunken rebel set the canes afire, alerting the whites of the rebellion
  • The West India Regiment quickly responded, with a Black troop that the rebels mistakenly believed wouldn't fight them; Bussa was killed in a battle with the Bourbon Blacks
  • The Regiment, consisting of 150 militarily trained men, had superior weapons compared to the rebels' pitchforks and swords; some rebels had muskets but lacked proper weapon use knowledge
  • The use of arson made it easy for white soldiers to locate and attack the rebels
  • Many freed coloureds abandoned the blacks and joined the whites during the fighting
  • Martial law from Easter Monday allowed for quick punishment of rebels, with 144 executed under Martial Law
• The rebellion started prematurely when a drunken rebel set the canes afire. This made the whites aware that a rebellion was in progress.
• The West India Regiment quickly responded. There was a Black troop and the rebels mistakenly believed that the Black soldiers would not fight them. On Easter Monday, Bussa was killed in a battle with the Bourbon Blacks.
• The Regiment consisted of 150 men who were militarily trained and possessed superior weapons to the pitchforks and swords used by the rebels. Some rebels were armed with muskets but they did not know how to properly use the weapons.
• The use of arson meant that the white soldiers could easily locate the rebels and attack them .
• During the rebellion many of the freed coloureds abandoned the blacks and joined the whites during the fighting.
• Martial law was used from Easter Monday and this allowed the rebels to be punished as quickly as possible. 144 were executed under Martial Law.