Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman and Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira among the attendees of the lecture by Professor Emeritus, Dr Alvin Thompson at the Umana Yana
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, performing the duties of President, on Tuesday evening attended the second of a three-part commemorative lecture series in observance of the 250th anniversary of the 1763 Berbice Slave Revolt at the Umana Yana. The lecture was delivered by Professor Emeritus, Dr Alvin Thompson. Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman and Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira were also among the attendees.
A Guyanese by birth, Dr Thompson is an internationally reputed historian and is the recipient of several prestigious awards for his many publications. He is at present Professor Emeritus at the University of the West Indies, where he started as a lecturer in 1972.
In his very emotional presentation, Professor Thompson spoke of the horrors of slavery and the deepseated desire for freedom that has led people, both geographically and historically, to revolt against oppression.
In the case of Berbice, the material and social conditions under which the enslaved people laboured exacerbated this situation.
He also spoke of the inalienable rights of all human beings and the need for Guyanese to objectify the struggles of the past in their national consciousness.
Some of Dr Thompson’s works include: Confronting Slavery: breaking through the corridors of silence, Colonialism and underdevelopment in Guyana- 1580-1803, Brethren of the Bush: a study of runaways and bushnegroes in Guyana- 1750- 1814; Some problems of slave desertion in Guyana- 1750- 1814, Unprofitable servants: crown slaves in Berbice, Guyana- 1803- 1831, and Aspects of Dutch Administration in Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice.
The Ministry has contacted UNESCO Paris, and has garnered their support for the hosting of an exhibition on slavery later this year. This exhibition was first put together in 2008 by the Liverpool Museum but was later dismantled and handed over to UNESCO.
By Guyana Times International