On 18 August 2023, Guyana marked 200 years since the Demerara Revolt began. The commemorations included public and scholarly events, while President Mohamed Irfaan Ali urged Guyanese to protect democracy and freedom and honored the enslaved people who resisted colonial rule. The bicentenary renewed attention to a revolt involving thousands of enslaved people across plantation estates. It also created space for descendants and historians to connect the revolt to later emancipation and national history. Commemoration is not a substitute for reparatory action, but it can challenge narratives that present freedom as an imperial gift rather than something fought for.
On 11 March 2014, CARICOM heads of government endorsed a ten-point plan for reparatory justice, later framed as the Caribbean Reparatory Justice Programme. The programme called for a full formal...
On 20 May 2016, Guyana hosted a national event in the CARICOM International Youth Reparations Relay and Rally at Independence Park in Georgetown. President David Granger voiced support for calls for...
On 1 August 2018, Guyana marked the 180th anniversary of emancipation. President David Granger used the occasion to urge “economic emancipation,” while celebrations in communities such as No. 53/Union...
On 20 August 2018, Guyana held a public ceremony for Demerara Martyrs’ Day at the 1823 Revolt Monument on Atlantic Avenue. President David Granger described the deaths of enslaved Africans during...
On 8 September 2019, a groundbreaking ceremony marked plans for a new 1823 Demerara Slave Revolt monument at Independence Park (Parade Ground), Georgetown. The proposed location was the site of...
👉 Guyana commemorates the bicentenary of the Demerara Revolt
Current
18 August 2023
On 18 August 2023, Guyana marked 200 years since the Demerara Revolt began. The commemorations included public and scholarly events, while President Mohamed Irfaan Ali urged Guyanese to protect...
On 24 August 2023, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said an apology by descendants of plantation owner John Gladstone should be accompanied by compensation and reparative justice. Ali connected the...
On 25 August 2023, Charles Gladstone delivered a public apology at the University of Guyana on behalf of descendants of John Gladstone, whose plantations relied on enslaved Africans and indentured...
On 18 March 2024, the Bank of Guyana announced the release of a G$200 commemorative coin marking the 200th anniversary of the Demerara Revolt. The coin carried the uprising into the country’s monetary...
On 25 March 2026, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 80/250, declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans the gravest crime against...
