Cast Saturday, Roots FM broadcast an informative piece on National Hero Sharpe. It said that Sharpe planned a passive resistance in which enslaved persons would not work after the Christmas holidays if the owners of plantations did not agree to pay wages for work done. The infomercial ended by stating that a fire was lit on Kensington Estate to signal to the thousand of enslaved persons that the rebellion had started. Therein lies a dilemma about Sharpe's strategy. If he planned a passive resistance how could there be burning of estates and a rebellion?

The answer lies in the reality that the burning of the estates was not part of the Sam Sharpe strategy. According to Findlay and Holdsworth in The History of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (1921), the fires were accidental. In fact, the beating of an African woman on December 24, 1831, precipitated the estate's being set alight. Her husband objected and stopped the beater and instead applied severe blows to the overseer. Armed troops were sent for in Montego Bay and that night a flame arose which continued to the following day.

And even if the fire was not accidental and was not precipitated by the abuse of a woman, then the fire could be due to those who thought that armed rebellion was the only way to gain wages and freedom. There was a minority in Sharpe's movement that believed armed struggle was the only voice to which buckra would listen.

Sharpe, however, would not bear arms, even though he agreed to self-defence. The fires on the estate were not part of Sharpe's strategy. There was no need for a signal because it was well known that the strike was after the three-day Christmas holiday. Therefore, the fires sabotaged Sharpe's plan of passive resistance.

English Baptists eventually called Sharpe's resistance a "peaceful and holy protest". And as Jamaicans, that is how it ought to be perceived. We need to allow this model to inspire our resistance now. It is sad that our modern trade-union movement does not hail Sam Sharpe as the father of the trade union movement and seek to emulate the Sharpe strategy.

Today's major trade unionists seem more interested in aligning themselves to political parties rather than to be identified with the Church in the quest for better working conditions for employees. Furthermore, the working-class movement has been abandoned by the Church, hence working-class people have to fend for themselves. No wonder Christopher Tufton, minister of agriculture and fisheries, remarked on Sunday's newscast that persons were setting ablaze cane fields because they perceived there was not equitable distribution of the produce.

In this day and age, we need to get back to the Sam Sharpe model of resistance so that workers in the cane piece can get their just reward.

Jamaica has had a long history of resistance starting with our indigenous Tainos.

Book launch today

Today marks the launch of Professor David Buisseret's book Jamaica In 1687, published by the National Library of Jamaica. Buisseret, in editing John Taylor's writings of 1660s, said the Tainos were so "sencible" (sic) that when the Spaniards were claiming to be instructing the Tainos in the knowledge of God and Christianity, they held up a piece of gold and said, "Behold, this is your God, for whilst you tell us of a future being, you rob us of our lives and wealth." They resisted abuse peacefully.

Sharpe's strategy continues to be sabotaged when we fail to resist peacefully and fail to engage in passive resistance for the betterment of the Jamaican working class.

Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'Rebellion to Riot: the Church in Nation Building'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.