Jamaica’s rich history of slavery, rebellions, fear, and ultimately emancipation lead to a revolution of different relationships between the slave and the slave owner. What started as a refusal to work ended up with serious strikes and rebellions against the whites through all regions of Jamaica. As slaves slowly acknowledged their roles in society, they realized that they wanted change and rights granted in the system. With specific revolts that occurred, the British government had no choice but to consider emancipation of slavery. The constant risks and dangers that rebels caused to the slave owners and Jamaica was enough of a reason for slaves to have their freedom. Novels and personal accounts such as Wide Sargasso Sea, The Meaning of Freedom, and An Account of the Emancipation of the Slaves open doors to hidden relationships, desires, and freedom among the Jamaican slaves.

One of the many issues touched in Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys are the disputes between the ex-slaves, servants, and black population with white slave owners. Besides the Emancipation Act, there were still problems of mistreatment and racism among the whites in Jamaica. Servants like Christophine, given as gift to Annette, felt as if she was still suffering: “No more slavery! She had to laugh! ‘These new ones have Letter of the Law. Same thing. They got magistrate. They got fine. They got jail house and chain gang. New ones worse than old ones – more cunning, that’s all.”(26, Rhys). Christophine understands the real motives behind the colonials after the emancipation. The black population desired change and that’s what happened.

A rebellion broke out in 1831, a crucial moment in changing Jamaica’s history. Holt’s The meaning of Freedom capture’s the understanding of the slaves feelings during the nineteenth century. Slaves were outraged for their lack of rights and treatment offered as it wasn’t enough. Slaves wanted personal, economic, and social stability branched away from their owners. Rather than a war, rebels held “sit-down” strikes and were encouraged to damage property, but without drawing blood. The rebels’ motives were to have no casualties and try to maintain the plantations for themselves to harvest in the future. Whites were constantly in fear of their slaves and revolts occurring. “The rebellion had a marked effect on the attitudes of government officials; they too, had come to accept the necessity of immediate abolition”. (17, Holt). Whites themselves came to a conclusion that the disruption and fear had to stop. The rebellion created a backbone for the emancipation of slaves in Jamaica.

Even before the official liberation of Jamaican slaves took place, white slave owners like David Barclay felt that owning slaves was immorally wrong. Barclay’s An Account of the Emancipation of the Slaves is his personal accounts on his experiment with his slaves. Very few owners like Barclay came to realize before the emancipation that slavery or holding a human being captive was immoral. Barclay not only felt that slavery conflicted with the Christianity, but also goes against the rights of nature. (3, Barclay). When he granted his slaves more rights, he felt as if he liberated himself from immorality and wrongdoing. Barclay hopes that the British come to the realization that slavery was wrong as it went against religion, personal ethics, and nature (4, Barclay).

The troubling history behind Jamaica’s emancipation was only backbone to the slave’s wishes for freedom. After countless rebellions and slave-owners struggling with their personal morality, the Jamaican slaves were finally given their right to freedom.Wide Sargasso Sea’s portrayal of unhealthy relationships between blacks and whites offer’s clarity to the issues ex-slaves faced after the emancipation. The Meaning of Freedom creates insight for the reader’s perception on how rebellions occurred. An Account of the Emancipation of the Slaves shows the other side of white slave owners on how they juggled slavery with their religion and personal principles. The emancipation of Jamaica affected both slaves and slave owners alike with different issues rising in their future. The only problem the slaves had to face was racism, mistreatment, and inequality that still existed in Jamaica for quite some time.