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REEF VILGALE
THE FREE VILLAGE
MOVEMENT
Caribbean History
LESSON’S OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:
(a) Define the term ‘free villages;
(b) Explain at least THREE reasons for the establishment of free villages in the Caribbean;
(c) State at least TWO things the ex-slaves hoped to achieve by establishing free villages in the
Caribbean;
(d) State the conditions which facilitated the growth of the free village movement in the Caribbean
by the end of the 19th century;
(e) State the conditions which hindered the development of a Caribbean peasant population up
until the 19th century;
(d) Assess the impact of Free Village settlements on labour problems in the Caribbean by the end
of the 19th century;
(e) Stay focused and readily participates in the lesson’s activities.
DEFINITION
• The term ‘free village’ is used to describe the
communities set up by freed men and women
after emancipation. These communities were set
up in different areas- on old abandoned estates,
on unused crown lands, and in the mountainous
interior in various territories.
NAMES OF ISLANDS WHERE FREE
VILLAGES WERE ESTABLISHED
INCLUDED:
▪ Jamaica
▪ Trinidad
▪ British Guiana
GUIDING QUESTIONS
(a) What are some reasons for the dramatic redistribution of
landholdings and the establishment of free villages?
(b) What factors affected the establishment of free villages?
(c) What did ex-slaves hoped to achieve by establishing free
villages?
(d) What were some problems free villages created for planters?
(e) Why did the non-conformist missionaries assist the ex-slaves
to establish themselves in free villages?
FACTORS WHICH ENABLED THESE
TERRITORIES TO ESTABLISH FREE VILLAGES
INCLUDED
1. Availability of land:
2. Support given by Missionary Groups.
3. The Efforts made by the ex-slaves
1. AVAILABILITY OF LAND
1. The availability of land. In some colonies land that was not suitable for sugar cultivation was
available for sale. The hilly colonies of Jamaica, St. Lucia and Grenada are perfect examples.
2. In a number of the territories land also became available after the 1850's. A number of planters
responded to the challenges of Emancipation by closing down their estates and returning to
England. Some of these abandoned estates were later sold in small plots to pay off debts.
3. 4. The colonial authorities in some colonies offered Crown land for sale. Governor Colebrook of
Antigua in the 1840's saw this as a way to attract the emancipated people to work on nearby
estates.
2. SUPPORT GIVEN BY MISSIONARY
GROUPS
These groups included:
1. The Wesleyan Methodists
2. The Moravians
3. The Scottish Missionaries
4. The Baptists
Their main contribution was that they helped ex-slaves to acquire land by
buying up large areas and re-selling it to their congregation.
THE ROLE OF CHURCHES IN ESTABLISHING FREE
VILLAGES
• The Non-Conformist Missionaries played a crucial role in helping
the ex-slaves to form Free Villages. They either acted as
bargaining agents for them, getting a ‘fair' price for the land and or
accessing loans from their headquarters Church in England.
• They bought large tracts of land, subdivided it and sold it in small
plots to those who wanted it. Jamaica had a number of Free
Villages that were formed this way. Most of them either bore the
name of Abolitionists or places in the Bible or Christian traits, for
examples: Clarksonville after Thomas Clarkson, Bethany and
Harmony.
THE ROLE OF CHURCHES IN ESTABLISHING FREE VILLAGES
• These Missionary established Free Villages each had a
Church at the centre of its operations. During the week the
Church building was used for school and even a day care
centre. Some offered evening classes to working adults. From
this early the British government decided to allow the Non
Conformist missionaries to provide elementary education to
the masses. They were given a small sum of money to help
them.
3.THE EFFORTS MADE BY THE EX-
SLAVES
• The freed people wanted to be truly free. They wanted to leave the estates
and make a life for themselves. A man does not feel like a man until he is
‘turning his own key'.
• During the Apprenticeship system some apprentices were able to work for
wages which they saved. Added to the savings from the Saturday market
sales, they were able to purchase small plots of land.
• In British Guiana, the ex-slaves pooled their resources and bought entire
estates through a co-operative venture. They then subdivided the land and
each person received their share according to the money they had out in.
ATTITUDE OF FREEMEN TO PLANTATION LABOUR
• In Jamaica where anti-plantation sentiment was
the strongest due to the planters strong racist
culture within society, the free village movement
was the strongest.
ATTITUDE OF THE PLANTERS
• They opposed the freemen's acquisition of land
by attempting to stop the sales of Crown Lands.
WHAT WERE FREE VILLAGES?
• Settlements established to take in homeless
immigrants
• Settlements that were formed independent of the
estates
• Shelters set up by planters
FREE VILLAGES ESTABLISHED IN
JAMAICA AFTER EMANCIPATION
THE AVAILABILITY OF LAND
• British ________, ______ and _________ had
much unused land, while Antigua, Barbados,
_________ and Grenada had practically none
MISSIONARY GROUPS CONTRIBUTION
• The largest number of F_______ V________ were
established in J_________ with the help of missionary
groups such as the B_________ and M_______. These
missionaries obtained funds to purchase large tracts of
land, then resold them c_______ after dividing them into
s_______ plots
COOPERATIVE VILLAGES
• In __________ from 1839 to 1856 freemen
created their own cooperative villages by pooling
resources to buy and operate abandoned
plantations.
MISSIONARY GROUPS CONTRIBUTION
• Under the guidance of the missionary groups the
peasants cultivated and sold their produce, built h_____,
s______ and c______. Examples of free villages in
Jamaica include Surge town, B_____ T_____ and
Sl__________.
RESULTS OF FREE VILLAGES:
1. Led to the growth of a large group of black land-owners in the
island – 133,000 by 1900 in Jamaica.
2. Led to diversification of the economy – no longer a
dependence on monocrop production
3. Opened up areas of employment for slaves
4. Led to an improved standard of living for ex – slaves.
5. Laid the foundation for the establishment of schools, churches
and markets.
TASK
Using a T-Chart, briefly summarize (list) the conditions
which facilitated and hindered the growth of the free village
movement in the Caribbean by the end of the 19th century.
N.B. At least three points EACH.
