The 1979 Union Island Uprising (Transcript)

Content Warning: This episode contains brief mentions of slavery and police brutality

In October 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became an independent state. Within this jubilation however, residents of the Grenadines still had concerns of the decades of unemployment, underemployment and underdevelopment and how these issues would fit into this new period of the nation’s history. But come December, on of these particular island, a group of persons choose a unique manner to address their grievances. 

Background

Like the rest of the region, the first inhabitants of the Grenadines were the Amerindians - specifically the Caribs. However, historical evidence shows that the region’s indigenous people did not spend a lot of time on the smaller islands of the Grenadian archipelago. According to the geographer, Dr. John Edward Adams:  

“Based on the fragmentary data, it appears that the Grenadines did not support a significant aboriginal population , and the island were mere appendages to more important Carib settlements in Grenada and St. Vincent. The absence of surface water and springs in the Grenadines may have been the key factor in restricting Caribe occupation of Union Island and the other Grenadines.”

Still, the presence of indigenous West Indians, were effectively disrupted by European colonisation of the region. The Europeans main interest in the Grenadian islands were the cultivation of cash crops; tobacco, cotton, coffee and sugar cane were planted and timber was cut and packaged for export to Martinique. Then during this period in the 17th century, there was increased political tension in the area where both France and Britain would lay claim to St. Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent. But Grenada and the Grenadines were undisputed French colonises. Still, in 1648, M. Du Parquet, who oversaw Martinique, purchased Grenada and the Grenadines where supervisory powers was given to Lt. General of the King of France. By 1650, a colony was established in Grenada. 

However, almost a century later, the political tension between the French and the British would reached fever pitch. It would be the Treaty of Paris in 1763, that end the conflict. But out of this treaty would come Britain taking possession of Dominica, St. Vincent, Grenada, the Grenadines and Tobago. These islands were collectively called the New West India colonies and on March 26, 1764, were been surveyed by Royal Proclamation. 

Also in the treaty’s aftermath was the two Carib Wars which was fought between the Caribs and the British on the island of St. Vincent. Specific to these two wars were the Garifuna people whose main purpose was to preserve their freedom on the island. Leaders such as Tourouya, Bigot, and Chatoyer led organised resistance against the Europeans. However they were out armed by the British and by the late 1700’s many would flee to the other areas in the Americas, mostly Central America.

But despite the peace agreement between Europeans powers, political flair ups was still happening between Britain and France, in the area. Over the next few decades, the Grenadines would be raided by pirates loyal to the French, where they burnt houses, crops and kidnapped enslaved Black people. With this, persons apart of the British regime cited security concerns and more efforts needed in the smaller islands been able to maintain themselves, especially in times of war-like tension.

With this been one of the main concerns, in 1791, Britain would partition the Grenadines into two separate administrative units. With this, the southern islands, of the Grenadines, like Carriacou and Petite Martinique was placed under the administrative control of Grenada while the northern islands, i.e. Mayero, Canon, Mustique, Bequia and Union Island, remained with St. Vincent. It has remained that way to this day. 

Coming to its Own

Now around the time that the Grenadines got partition, the enslaved Black population of Union Island hovered around 500. By 1838 when Emancipation took place in the British West Indies, the Black population was more so the same where by 1871, the total population of the Union Island as 581. Around this time, one of the industries that expanded was agriculture where many residents took place in a sharecropping model that emerged after Emancipation. In this model, tenants worked on colonised estate lands for a percentage of the crops reaped. On another episode of our podcast, The Fight To Own Land In Jamaica, we go into the issue of the land rights issues that plague Black West Indians in the aftermath of Emancipation. 

Still, these crops would be exported to other areas in the Eastern Caribbean. Cotton fibre and seed, as well as poultry, was sent to St. Vincent; and pigeon peas to Grenada and Barbados. Wood was also sent to Barbados. Sheep and goats were exported to Trinidad. Around this time, turtle fishing was also a industry many Black residents of Union Island took part in. According to John Edwards Adams: 

“turtle fishing is the oldest, continuous economic activity in Union Island. The Bluebooks and Annual Trade Report of St. Vincent record a yearly export of “live turtles” and turtle shells from the Grenadines to Trinidad, Barbados and the United Kingdom throughout the nineteenth century” 

The turtle fishing industry would continue throughout the 1900’s. 

Another marine industry that was prominent after Emancipation was whaling. Humpback whales would be hunted where the oil was collected, cooled and shipped to St. Vincent to be sent to the UK. The meat was then sold to local where whale was a major cuisine of residents. But by the 1920’s, when the island’s population was now in the 1100’s, the whaling industry would stalled due to overfishing of whales and lack of demand for whale oil. 

This issue would be one of the first economic restriction of the island in the twentieth century that drove residents frustration even further.

A Tense Situation 

By the mid 20th century, residents of country would begin to feel an economic sting, which led to the St. Vincent Labour Riots of 1935. Yet, this strain was not confined to the main island. By the 1950’s, fertiliser was low for cotton farms where many crops were destroyed by parasites as well as an outbreak of bollworm infestation. The decade also saw a series of drought conditions. For example, in 1958, the island experience a severe drought which cause many water holes to dry up and many cattles dying off due to lack of water and grass. By 1960’s the census showed that only 69% of the island’s male labour force was working. 

Constraint due to these events, residents of Union Island would turn to the sea where conch fishing would soon become a important economic activity in the 1950’s. John Edward Adams, in his paper, “Conch Fishing Industry of Union Island, West Indies”, stated that “in 1966 an estimated 200,000 pounds of conch meat was sold in Grenada and Trinidad valued at $30,000.00”. However, by the 1970’s, nearly the entire yield of conch was sold to proprietor of the Clinton Yacht Club to support the island’s tourist industry. Snapper, red hind and grouper fishes were also sold to the property. 

The early 1970’s also see men of the island gained work on foreign-owned bulk carriers and at the Palm Island Resort - the latter established to support the trust industry which gained a major boost with the construction of an airport. 

Still despite these emerging industries, the 1970’s saw underemployment, unemployment and underdevelopment of the island became a major issue - not only on Union Island but throughout the Grenadian dependent islands. In the book, “Crisis In the Caribbean”, the sociologist, Phillip Nanton wrote: 

“In recent years the islands have been forced to depend on the mainland for fresh-water supplies. Of the seven permanently inhabited islands, Mayreou and Canouan are without electricity. No islands contain more than an outline of a road system. Education standards on most of the islands remain low and emigration is accepted as a way of life. Neglect is shown by the lease of sale of a number of islands to foreign private companies at almost giveaway rates, in order to develop tourism”. 

Then on April 13th 1979, the La Soufrière volcano erupted causing thousands of persons to be displaced and about USD$100 million in damages. But the eruption happened in the middle of the nation’s independence campaign and like hope shining through despair, on October 27, 1979, they won independence from Britain thus becoming St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Soon after, the country would host their first post independence election on Dec 05. Four political parties would contested it: the St Vincent Labour Party, SLVP; the New Democratic Party, NDP; People’s Political Party, PPP; and the left alliance of the United People’s Movement which comprises the AWREE, the People’s Democratic Party, PDM, and the Youlou United Liberation Movement, Yuliomo.

Sidenote: Yuliomo had a very interesting history with the government during this period as, documented in their newspaper, Freedom, some of their members faced police raids on their homes while their leaders got arrested and faced hostility in political circles, especially with SLVP. In fact, by 1979, Yuliomo was led by a then young academic named, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who was facing hostility throughout the Eastern Caribbean at the time but ironically went on to become one of the longest serving head of governments in Caribbean history. To learn more about this trajectory of Dr. Gonsalves, check out our Lest We Forget episode, “The Censorship Years of Comrade Ralph”. 

Now in the wake of the election, SLVP got the majority vote - winning 53.6% of the votes- and as such, their leader Milton Cato, who was also premier from 1974-1979, became Prime Minister. And now the optics was that out of this ashes of this volcanic eruption, a new era of St. Vincent and the Grenadines would bloom. However in this jubilation of independence and the election, residents of Union Island still had their concerns of unemployment, underemployment and underdevelopment and they wanted to know how these concerns would fit into this new period of the country’s history. 

But its key to remember that is the year of 1979 and the other partition nation, that is Grenada, just had the first successful revolution in the English-speaking Caribbean (this podcast has a five part series on that event). And as such a group of men on Union Island would seek inspiration from that event to address their grievances. 

The Uprising 

On December 7, 1979, just two days of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ election, an uprising took place on Union Island. At the centre of the event was the bombing of the Ashton Police Station. According to persons involve, the bombing was to scare the police and that it did, for even though no police was hurt, reports was that they all flee. Then the group obtained a PA system from a nearby church upon which they informed the entire island of the uprising. They then took control of several government building and facilities. 

Now by most reports, the uprising was led by a man name, Lennox “Bumba” Charles. Charles had lived abroad for a number of years before returning to Union Island. On the island, he helped produced the island’s first local newspaper and got involve in a few small scale projects, including plans for a farming scheme. But by 1978, Bumba was apart of Union Island’s delegation in Bequia to speak on issues affecting the Grenadines. On Union Island issues, the concerns that were raised include: over-fishing of its waters, drug smelling and foreign exploitation. A year later, these issues were clearly not addressed and as stated above, was the driving force of the revolt. According to Bumba in a 2019 article published in the Vincentian, the uprising was targeted at the “government structure, which extracted everything and gave back nothing tangible to the people of Southern Grenadines”. 

However, we should say that Bumba, over the years, have stated that he was not the mastermind behind the revolt. According to him, he was just the foot solider and the real leaders of the uprising was the island’s senior citizens who were motivated after reportedly hearing the then Prime Minister Milton Cato said “Unionites will have to eat grass”. 

Still, regardless of who was in charge, it was became abundantly clear soon that the uprising lacked organisation, equipment and support. So for example: after the PA announcement, a group of persons journeyed to Palm Island to let persons know about the uprising but when they approached the island they were fired upon by John Caldwell who had leased the island in 1966 for 99 years where by now Palm Island was turned into a resort. The group then turned to Carriacou, largely in search of weaponry (again, they lacked equipment), but they were meant with resistance and told to leave. 

In the days that followed, the Mito government declared a state of emergency and a curfew from dusk to dawn was implemented. The government then sent a battalion of police from St. Vincent to the Union Island. The operation was led by Inspector Ruthford Cox, who was also a Unionite. At the time, St. Vincent and the Grenadines did not have an army and thus was supported by Bajan soldiers. But according to the attorney at law Steve Stewart, this was not a popular move. As he wrote in an article for The Vincentian in 2019: 

“[Mito] called on the United States, Britain and the region to send troops to assist. Only Prime Minister Tom Adams of Barbados responded by sending Bajan soldiers to Vincy soil which provided serious debates in the Barbadian Parliament. The view was that the Union Island Uprising was an internal matter of state and ought not to be subjected to foreign interference by other countries.”

Nevertheless, the troop of law enforcement would use the Palm Island as a base where around forty persons involve in the uprising was arrested and the revolt eventually put down. The operation would result in the death of one person and another person, Lynden Stewart, went missing at sea. Then for Bumba, he and a group of persons would flee to Grenada but was eventually detained by the nation’s authorities and returned to St. Vincent to faced criminals charges. 

Aftermath and Legacy

In the aftermath of the revolt, the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines would strength the police force and in August 1981 when rumours of an attempted coup started making the round, there was discussion of a citizens’ militia. Then the state of emergency which was declared on Union Island in December 1979 lasted for several months where it eventually ended in June 1980. 

As for those who were arrested during the operation, many were released the following year without charge. According to Stewart, “it was three torturous weeks of being beaten, drenched regularly with cold water, and made to lie on the cold floor with little sleeping materials and little to eat”. For those who took part in the uprising, they were branded in the international press as members of a “Rastafarian cult". A December 9, 1979 New York Times article branded them a “Rastafarian cult” while a March 10, 1981 article published in the United Press International called them, “Rastafarian black power cultists”. 

In the end of what would become the longest trial in St. Vincent and the Grenadines history up to this point, a number of person were sent to trial. This includes Bumba and his reported number two, Camilo Adams. Bumba received the longest prison sentence of everyone and eventually with, Junior “Spirit” Cottle, began a prison literacy programmed while incarcerated. Both men then went on to become the first persons to gain GCE O’Level subjects while serving prison sentences. 

Still, today the uprising is largely as an important day on Union Island. On December 08, 2019, at public ceremony observing the 40th anniversary of the uprising, many persons spoke on their experience of the event and the circumstance that led to it. The Vincentian covered the event and mentioned that one resident, Maria McKie, called for December 7 to be designated Lynden Stewart Memorial Day. 

Bumba and Camillo, as well as Chris Adams and Peter Regis, was also at the above event where they spoke on their experience taking part in the uprising. The Vincentian newspaper also mentioned that Bumba is largely seen through a heroic lens on Union Island. They stated: 

“Bumba Charles remains a heralded figure in Union Island. His legacy is a positive one, he being revered for starting the first Steel Orchestra in Union Island, introducing structured basketball to the youth of the island, producing the first newspaper for Union, albeit an underground one”. 

Today, the state of the island is not the same as it was the 1970’s with many infrastructure and employment improvements. Still, some of the grievance of the citizens of Union Island, and the rest of the Grenadines, have largely not went away. At the 40th commemoration of the uprising, one Union Island citizen, Rosemond Adams, stated that the last stanza of the country’s national anthem needs to be replaced - specifically the phrase, “Our little sister islands”.

Then in 2024, Hurricane Beryl would hit the Southern Grenadines causing widespread damages. According to a World Bank report, it was a reported US$ 230.6 million in damages - roughly 22% of the country’s gross domestic product where Union Island was the worst hit area, suffering an estimated US$ 93.9 million in damages (41% of the total damages). Almost half of the population was displaced to St. Vincent. Almost a year later, the island is still recovering. 

However, if there’s anything history has shown is that the citizens of the Union Island and the rest of the Grenadines, will always find a way to bounce back from adversity.