‘Their Coats Were Tied Up like Men’: Women Rebels in Antigua’s 1858 Uprising

Citation:

Lightfoot, Natasha. 2010. “‘Their Coats Were Tied Up like Men’: Women Rebels in Antigua’s 1858 Uprising.” Slavery & Abolition 31 (4): 527-45.

Author: Natasha Lightfoot

Abstract:

This paper presents the story of the 1858 riot and its primary causes, including Antigua's economic downturn since emancipation in 1834 and the dissatisfaction which black working people had with the post-slavery social order. The disturbance originated between dockworkers from both Antigua and Barbuda competing for jobs in Antigua's capital, but expanded to involve hundreds of working-class Antiguans assailing Barbudans, white planters, Portuguese immigrants, and black and mixed-race policemen. As many Antiguan women formed the forefront of the uprising, the article concentrates on the gendered dimensions of the violence, from the brutal acts Antiguan women perpetrated against Barbudan women to their masculinisation in the press and the trial, being alleged to have dressed and carried themselves 'like men' during the fray. The study raises critical questions about the hardships of Antiguan freedwomen in the post-slavery period seeking to maintain their lives and livelihoods, and how those hardships drove them to the front lines of the conflict. Overall, the essay examines the goals of the Antiguan rioters and investigates the changing targets of their violence during the insurgency, as a way to engage their conceptions, however contradictory, of what freedom was and who should enjoy its privileges.

Topics: Combatants, Female Combatants, Gender, Women, Violence Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries Countries: Antigua & Barbuda

Year: 2010

© 2024 CONSORTIUM ON GENDER, SECURITY & HUMAN RIGHTSLEGAL STATEMENT All photographs used on this site, and any materials posted on it, are the property of their respective owners, and are used by permission. Photographs: The images used on the site may not be downloaded, used, or reproduced in any way without the permission of the owner of the image. Materials: Visitors to the site are welcome to peruse the materials posted for their own research or for educational purposes. These materials, whether the property of the Consortium or of another, may only be reproduced with the permission of the owner of the material. This website contains copyrighted materials. The Consortium believes that any use of copyrighted material on this site is both permissive and in accordance with the Fair Use doctrine of 17 U.S.C. § 107. If, however, you believe that your intellectual property rights have been violated, please contact the Consortium at info@genderandsecurity.org.