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Skin for Skin: Biblical Language in Jamaica’s Morant Bay Rebellion

Skin for Skin: Biblical Language in Jamaica’s Morant Bay Rebellion In October, 1865, Paul Bogle and a few hundred Black residents of rural Jamaica rebelled against the vagaries of an overly zealous magistrate. They set the courthouse at Morant Bay on fire and killed over a dozen people, mostly white. In the savage government reprisals that followed, over 430 Black Jamaicans were executed. Here, I observe how biblical language played a central role in public discourse about the rebellion. I focus on the rebellion’s slogan: skin for skin. I trace the interpretive history of this phrase drawn from the book of Job, showing how it became associated with advocacy for Black rights. And I examine the social context of Bogle’s use of the phrase to call for a Black alliance that crossed ethnic, religious, and class lines. I thus further a critical trajectory that has recognized the importance of biblical language to race talk in the age of emancipation. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of the American Academy of Religion Oxford University Press

Skin for Skin: Biblical Language in Jamaica’s Morant Bay Rebellion

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References (43)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Religion 2023.
ISSN
0002-7189
eISSN
1477-4585
DOI
10.1093/jaarel/lfac071
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In October, 1865, Paul Bogle and a few hundred Black residents of rural Jamaica rebelled against the vagaries of an overly zealous magistrate. They set the courthouse at Morant Bay on fire and killed over a dozen people, mostly white. In the savage government reprisals that followed, over 430 Black Jamaicans were executed. Here, I observe how biblical language played a central role in public discourse about the rebellion. I focus on the rebellion’s slogan: skin for skin. I trace the interpretive history of this phrase drawn from the book of Job, showing how it became associated with advocacy for Black rights. And I examine the social context of Bogle’s use of the phrase to call for a Black alliance that crossed ethnic, religious, and class lines. I thus further a critical trajectory that has recognized the importance of biblical language to race talk in the age of emancipation.

Journal

Journal of the American Academy of ReligionOxford University Press

Published: Jan 2, 2023

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