📅 13 October 1865
On 13 October 1865, Governor Edward John Eyre declared martial law in Surrey County, excluding Kingston, after the Morant Bay uprising. Although the uprising was suppressed within days, martial law...
📅 21 October 1865
On 21 October 1865, Jamaican politician George William Gordon was sentenced to death by a court-martial at Morant Bay. He had been arrested in Kingston, which was outside the martial-law zone, and...
📅 23 October 1865
On 23 October 1865, George William Gordon was hanged after a rapid court-martial during martial law. The execution of an elected Jamaican politician who had not been present at the Morant Bay...
📅 24 October 1865
On 24 October 1865, Baptist deacon and community leader Paul Bogle was hanged at Morant Bay after capture and trial under martial law. Bogle had organized resistance to court injustice and led the...
📅 13 November 1865
On 13 November 1865, the thirty-day period of martial law in Surrey County ended. The uprising had been suppressed within days, yet emergency rule continued while Black Jamaicans faced military...
📅 23 January 1866
On 23 January 1866, the Jamaica Royal Commission began its inquiry into the Morant Bay uprising and the colonial government’s response. The commissioners interviewed witnesses and examined the actions...
📅 9 April 1866
Dated 9 April 1866, the Jamaica Royal Commission report criticized the repression following Morant Bay. It found that martial law lasted longer than necessary, executions were too frequent,...
📅 11 June 1866
On 11 June 1866, an Order in Council established a new Crown Colony constitution for Jamaica, replacing the former representative arrangement with a Legislative Council under direct imperial...
