By Jennifer

During our extended stay at Emerald Bay Marina, we explored one of the historic sites located in Steventon, Great Exuma. The site commemorates a 32-year-old slave named Pompey who orchestrated a slave rebellion from his wealthy British landowner in 1829. Pictured in the slideshow are the remains of the jail where Pompey was incarcerated and a monument honoring Pompey.

Here’s the story as posted on Bahamianstudies.org.

A.J. Lees, acting as Lord Rolle’s agent, attempted to transfer seventy-seven of Rolle’s slaves from Exuma to Cat Island. Led by a 32 year old slave named Pompey, a number of the slaves hid in the bush for several weeks and then stole a boat and sailed to Nassau to petition the Governor. When Governor Smyth finally heard their case, he found that Lees had lied to obtain the transfer permit and ordered that the slaves be allowed to remain in Exuma.

• “Eventually, the governor learned of the proposed illegal transaction and returned the slaves to the Rolle Plantation on Exuma where their peers celebrated their return and refused to work. The military was again called in, and searched the slave houses for arms, recovering 25 muskets. Pompey took a short cut through the woods and warned people in the second slave village on the plantation, who subsequently hid themselves and their weapons in the bush.”
• “Learning they would be leaving in three days to be hired out to another planter illegally, most of these slaves followed Pompey, a 32 year old slave, into the bush to hide for five weeks. When their provisions ran out, they stole Lord Rolle’s boat and sailed to Nassau in the hope of presenting their situation to the governor, who held antislavery viewpoints.”
• “In retrospect at least, Pompey’s miniature rebellion was the first substantial victory for Bahamian slave resisters.