NO TO HEROES LIKE TACKY
There is a growing consensus that Tacky should be declared a national hero, but proponents must temper passion with reason. Globally, the movement to elevate African consciousness and black historical figures is gaining steam, however, activists must contain the romanticisation of vaunted historical figures. Tacky possessed leadership acumen and was revered by his peers, but great figures are rarely good people and the fact of greatness does not qualify Tacky to be a national hero. The actions of heroes must result in social improvement and if the Tacky revolt had been successful then today Jamaica would be like Haiti. At that time Western powers were not going to take black republics seriously; therefore the hostile reaction of Britain and her allies would surely lead to economic costs for Jamaica. Putting emotions aside, it becomes clear that not only were the outcomes of the revolt damaging to the economy, but it failed to ameliorate the conditions of slaves.
In fact, over 500 supporters of the insurrection were killed. Although insurrections incurred costs for the British state, leading historian Trevor Burnard has argued that the British had an immense capacity to suppress slave insurrections and when one considers the brutality of slavery in Jamaica, it's surprising that the island did not have more revolts. Moreover, Tacky was a Fante chief who had no problem selling Africans into slavery, enslavement only became an issue for Tacky when he was sold into slavery. Neither is it evident that Tacky even wanted to abolish slavery.
If Jamaicans want new national heroes there are better people than Tacky who should be selected. For example, W Adolphe Roberts was a founding member and leader of the Jamaica Progressive League, an advocate for the disenfranchised, and one of the first people to lobby for self-government. He is definitely, a more refined and systematic figure than Tacky. Similarly, Richard Hill who was an international anti-slavery advocate, politician, amateur scientist, and an active member of many scientific and intellectual societies in nineteenth-century Jamaica fares better than Tacky. Black people are not innately virtuous and the movement to rewrite history by whitewashing the sins of black personalities is becoming pathetic. A case in point is that the Maroons are lauded as freedom fighters when in reality they fought for their freedom and safeguarding it required them to suppress slave insurrections and return runaways to their masters.
Further, the 1810 census records of the Journal of the House of Assembly of Jamaica reveal the Maroons as slaveowners. It should also interest the general public to learn that the nineteenth-century Maroon Land Allotment Act repudiated their treaty with the British so the Maroons have no legal authority over the lands they claim to own. As such, the state and the private sector must expedite development in these quarters and desist from wasting time with the Maroons. It's time for Jamaicans to get serious and stop being so sentimental and emotional about history and their blackness.