Tacky was enslaved on a Jamaican sugar plantation, but his plans for his captors were anything but sweet. He was about to unleash Hell on his tormentors. What made this enslaved man so powerful?
He was a Chief among the enslaved population. Although he quickly rose to the ranks of overseer on the plantation, he never accepted his circumstances. And there was something else, too.
Tacky had a network of followers who not only followed his commands, but who also knew he was planning a revolt that would leave bloody white bodies in its path. Sure enough, he used his superior military skills to declare war! His followers executed any white person they saw – until something horrible happened.
A white man captured him, then chopped off his head and tried to use it to scare his followers! But they refused to be afraid. Some of them killed themselves rather than return to enslavement. Others used his plans to continue the revolt until rebellions were breaking out all over the community!
For Tacky and his followers, death was more desirable than enslavement. Our liberation is earned tooth and nail with blood, sweat, and tears. May our battle for liberation inspire our people everywhere to keep fighting!