St. Joseph Mutiny

The St. Joseph Mutiny was a revolt that broke out on 17 June 1837 within the 1st West India Regiment of the British Army. It began at the unit's barracks in St. Joseph on the colony of Trinidad within the British West Indies.

The mutiny was led by recently arrived Africans who had been forcibly conscripted into the British Army after being captured from illegal slave ships. Around 60-100 soldiers in the 1st Regiment participated, seizing arms and ammunition, killing one black soldier, and setting fire to the white officers' quarters.[1] The army and Trinidad militia subsequently killed twelve of the mutineers, while six others committed suicide to avoid capture. Three ringleaders of the rebellion were executed, while two others were sentenced to death but had their sentences commutated to transportation to Australia.[2]

One of the leaders of the mutiny, Daaga, became a folk hero in Trinidad and was an inspiration for the leaders of the Black Power Revolution in the 1960s.[3]