#akans

The story of Breffu, a female slave from Ghana who led a massive slave revolt to take over the West Indies in 1733

Many rebellions took place during the peak of the slave trade. The reasons for the uprising are simple; enslaved Africans were tired of being abused, misused and mistreated. They were also tired of seeing each other die and living in stark poverty all their lives.

Enslaved Africans were not allowed to voice out their troubles and problems; this led to the act of rebelling against their masters and fleeing to freedom, their only way of being heard.

In 1733, one such revolt against the Danes in the West Indies happened. Known as the 1733 slave insurrection on St John, it is one of the longest lasting rebellion recorded in the history of the Americas lasting from November 1733 to August 1734. It is also one of the earliest to have occurred.

European power over the West Indies from late 1600 to 1718 shifted between the Spanish, British, French, Dutch and the Danes.  By 1718, the Danes had full control over the land and established a proper settlement. Slaves already existed in the West Indies, and a  high number of them were from West Africa, notably present-day  Ghana.

In November 1733, enslaved Akans from the Kingdom of Akwamu in Ghana were led by Breffu, a young female rebel owned by Pieter Krøyer in Coral Bay to plan a rebellion. With the support of Christian, another slave, Breffu empowered over 150 slaves to stand up for their rights, rebel against their masters and take over the West Indies. Many of these slaves were royals, and with the hopes of gaining their freedom and enjoying the privileges they enjoyed in the Akwamu Kingdom,  the slaves willingly agreed to Breffu’s idea.

On November 23, 1733, the rebellion against their masters started as planned. Going about their regular duties, the slaves had previously hidden knives in wood that they delivered to the fort at Coral Bay. After successfully entering Fort Fredericksvaern, the slaves killed majority of the soldiers in the fort. While they fought, John Gabriel, a soldier, managed to escape and alert the Danish officials, but the alert was too late as the slaves managed to take over the fort and fire the cannon from the fort indicating the takeover.

Back in their plantations, Breffu and other slaves waited patiently for the signal from the fort. The successful firing of the canon indicated that slaves in their plantations could kill their masters. Together with Christian, Breffu raced into the home of her master, Pieter Krøyer and murdered him and his wife. Other slaves followed suit taking all the ammunition and gunpowder they could carry. Breffu continued and killed three members of the Van Stell family, one of the wealthiest families on the island.

A few slave masters managed to escape off the island on their boats, and the Akwamu people took control of most of the island. Their plan was to take over the plantations and use Africans of other descent as slave-labour just as was practised in the Kingdom back in Ghana.

With Breffu as their leader, they were successful until early 1934 when the French military had finally agreed to help the Danes regain the Island and their lost plantations.

In April 1734, during a ritual, Breffu and 23 other Akwamu rebels committed suicide to prevent being captured. Their bodies were found at Browns bay minutes after the suicide ritual. A few weeks later in May, the Akwamus were defeated by the French Military due to the advantage of ammunition. By the end of May, many surviving plantation owners regained their property. The last Akwamu rebels were killed in August 1734 officially ending the 1733 slave insurrection on St John.

“We are better than you are” – Akans and Ewes clash on social media over which ethnic group is superior; concerns over discrimination raised

Two notable ethnic groups in Ghana, the Akans and Ewes have renewed what can be described as a social media brawl over which group is superior to the other. This development comes on the back of a statement made by Citi FM journalist Caleb Kudah after he was sent to the office of the National Security that he had to deny that he was an Ewe to escape from being…

Re. Ghanaians’ absurd infatuation with spoken English

A lot of valid points have been made as comments on his piece but I picked on one by Sika as a prop to write my rejoinder. I agree with Sika that those calling for Twi to be made the national language are indeed fools and mere ethnic supremacists. As such, they cannot recognise that Twi is not the mother tongue of the majority of Ghanaians, even though a majority of Ghanaians may be speaking it…

Okomfo Anokye was NEVER an EWE.

There is an article on GhanaWeb claiming Okomfo Anokye was an Erverh (Ewe). That is a LIE that should be nipped in the bud

Whoever wrote that article on Ghana web is a SUPREME LIAR that should be jailed just on principle for being the BIGGEST LIAR in Erverhland.

Where is the EVIDENCE to support the claim that Okonfo Anokye was an Erverh (Ewe)? Most Erverh have family trees they can trace all the…

Ghanaians are fervently requested to approach this write-up with clear conscience; keeping an open mind. I do not intend to inflame tribal embers but to tell the truth as it should. I hope to find lasting solutions by conveying the reality of the …