Volume No. 2 Issue No. 27 - Friday January 25, 2008
Pierre Colaire Story and the Monument Project By Hon Ron Green and Dr. Emanuel Finn
Sari and Alanna Finn at the Pierre Colaire Monument and site of the La Plaine Riots.
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The priest knew of Colaire�s whereabouts because the Roman Catholic Church owned a large portion of La Plaine. The rest of the land was (British) Crown land and the peasant villagers had small plots.
Meanwhile, the appearance of a warship in the bay, where fishing boats were docked, caused quite a stir.
The villagers blew conch shells to summon other villagers and before too long a large crowd gathered at the presbytery. It was rumored that Colaire was among them.
The historical notes detail the complaints the priest spelled out to Commander Bailey in sympathy with the peasants about the unfair and exorbitant land taxes on �Malawaye�. Commander Bailey would have none of it.
His mission was to find and apprehend Colaire and make an example of him.
After all, a peasant from a poor, backward, rural, outpost had defied and challenged the British Crown and the vast and powerful British Empire. How could that have happened?
Indeed, how could this act of defiance to the imperialistic notion of �Rule Britannia� be tolerated?
Bailey and his contingent then marched onto Case O� Gowrie, up the ridge from the Sari-Sari river amidst a growing and angry crowd.
Reports indicated that the mob included villagers from the surrounding communities of Boetica, Delicies, Morne Juane and Riviere Cyrique who came to join in solidarity with Colaire and La Plaine folks.
Tensions were mounting on both sides as the large crowd, which was increasing in size and confidence, jeered and taunted the force as they headed to Colaire�s house.
Upon their arrival at Case O Gowrie, Colaire was a few steps ahead of Bailey�s forces and he slipped into hiding under the thick canopy of the mountains and rain forests.
Unable to find him, unsatisfied and frustrated, Bailey commenced the ejection of Mrs. Colaire and her children from their home once again.
At this point, all hell broke loose. Mr. St. Ville, a man from Boetica, stepped in front of the force with his cutlass swinging to prevent the eviction. The crowd joined in and started pelting stones and brandishing their cutlasses and sharpened sticks (�pichets)�.
As expected, the marines opened fire and when the smoke cleared, four La Plaine peasants lay dead and countless others were wounded.
The remaining villagers escaped and melted into the surrounding hills and nearby forests. The force left with Mr. St. Ville under arrest. History does not record what St. Ville�s ultimate fate was after that sad day in Au Vent.
Of course, unorganized peasants were no match for a modern well-trained and heavily armed military. Commander Bailey and Governor Smith had won the day and in the process disrespected, humiliated, and brutalized peasants from a small and poor mountain village.
In the end, our brave forefathers won the war and left a legacy of pride, purpose and a strong sense of destiny, duty and identity for their descendents.
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