Meet Yoruba Enslaved Woman Who Led A Revolution In 1884 To Free Slaves In Cuba
December 16, 2020 1578
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The 1800s, in the Americas and Europe, was an interesting
and busy era, which was filled with noble resistance and revolts from Back men
and women all over the world. At that point in history, slavery had been
abolished but was still practiced in many parts of America and Europe.
Black men and women who were descendants of Africans taken
into captivity and slavery were becoming bolder in their need for freedom. The Caribbean
was where Africans suffered the most at the hands of slave masters and
plantation overseers.
But no matter how hard the white slavers tried to break the
spirit of the Black people; the resilient Black spirit fought back. And every
time there was a revolt, it shocked and reminded the white enslavers that "the
spirit of the Africans were as hard as the back of a thousand years old Iroko
tree."
As the years went by, more and more Africans started to
revolt. Although their leaders were caught and killed in some cases, in
general, the enslaved Africans were waking up aggressively. It was in that
unflinching demand for freedom that the legend and achievements of Carlota
Lucumi was born.
Carlota was still a slave as of 1843, and was still laboring
and enslaved in sugar plantations in Mantazas, Cuba, called Triunvirato. At
that point her rank had risen among the enslaved Africans, and so she had some
influence in the community of the slaves. So, for months, she and five other
slaves planned to revolt against their masters.
Her counterparts were named Firmina (a woman), Filipe
Lucumi, Eduardo, Narciso, and Manuel Ganga. They stroke on the 5th of November
1843, setting multiple houses on their plantation on fire, including the house
which was used in punishing slaves. They attacked the Mayor and Julian Luis
Alfonso, who was the sole owner of the plantation.
The tale of bravery and revolt of Carlota spread like
wildfire throughout Cuba. And its wake, over 5 plantations had their slaves
rising up and killing as much white enslavers as they could find. They were
hungry for freedom, and they took it by force.
Carlota was so fierce in battle that she celebrated the
success of her revolution by striking down the daughter of an overseer with her
machete. The overseer's daughter was named María de Regla.
The revolution raged on, and she was captured by white
soldiers, and tortured. They tied her body to her horses and forced them to
drag her till she died. When her followers found her body on the morning of
November 6, 1943, on the Triunvirato estate, they were enraged and went angrily
stormed the estate killing as many whites as they saw. The revolution would come
to an end, as the whit soldiers overpowered the Blacks, with their superior
firepower.
The revolt ended after Carlota's death, but its legacy lived
on, and was the major motivation for the Cuban independence struggle by Fidel
Castro in 1868. Her rebellion sent a hard shock to the heart of the white
society in Cuba.
Till today, Carlota is a major element in Cuban history, for
her role in leading one of the biggest revolts in during slavery.
She was kidnaped at the age of 10 from the Kingdom of Benin where
she was born, and taken into slavery. One would expect that the harsh realities
of slavery would have broken the resilient African spirit of a 10-year-old
girl, but it didn't. From that tender age, she wanted freedom. And she grew up
to become a fierce fighter and liberator.
Her last name Lucumi is gotten from her ethnic group, the Lucumi people, who are Afro-Brazilians descended from the Yoruba of present-day Nigeria and Benin Republic. Their tribe were greatly feared in Cuba, just like the Maroons. They were known for leading revolts and establishing their own settlements.