Paul Bogle was born sometime between 1815 and 1822. He grew up when slavery was ending and became a Baptist deacon in Stony Gut, a few miles north of Morant Bay. Believing in the teachings of the Bible, Paul was a supporter of George William Gordon and thought of as a generally peaceful and kind man. He was eligible to vote at a time when there were only 104 voters in the parish of St Thomas.
Even after slavery was abolished, there was no real freedom for the black people in Jamaica. They were not given rights to fair trials, to own land or to vote. Paul Bogle did own land - about 500 acres, and he could read and write. One day in 1865, two men were on trial in the Morant Bay Court House and Paul Bogle together with some of his people went to support them. Events that took place at that trial urged Paul Bogle to lead a protest march to the Morant Bay courthouse on October 11, 1865. The march escalated into what became the Morant Bay Rebellion where thousands of houses were burnt.
The Government sent troops to put down the rebellion and many of Paul Bogle's people were killed or hurt. Eventually Paul Bogle was captured and taken to Morant Bay where he was put on trial. He was found guilty and hanged at the Court House on October 24, 1865, along with four hundred and thirty-eight other people.
The rebellion did achieve its objectives. It paved the way towards the establishment of fairer practice in the courts and it brought about a change in official attitude, which made the social and economic betterment of the people possible. Paul Bogle was named one of Jamaica's national heroes because he died for what he believed was right.
