Background
George William Gordon was born in Jamaika in 1820 into slavery in Jamaica, the illegitimate son of a wealthy white planter and a black slave woman.
George William Gordon was born in Jamaika in 1820 into slavery in Jamaica, the illegitimate son of a wealthy white planter and a black slave woman.
Gordon taught himself to read and write and mastered the rudiments of accounting.
In 1836, two years before the formal end of slavery, he set himself up as a produce dealer in Kingston. He later became a planter in the parish of St. Thomas. By 1842 he had accumulated enough wealth to provide European educations for his twin sisters and an older sister, and to save his white lather from bankruptcy. Gordon became a magistrate in St. Thomas Parish and, after 1850, a member of the Jamaican House of Assembly.
Instead of affiliating with the white rural or “Country” political party, he joined the so-called Town party of fellow “men of color,“ who for the most part were merchants, government officials, and lawyers, with ideas ranging from progressive to radical. The Town party's early role was one of close support for critics of the callous, conservative policies of Governor Eyre, in the face of a deep economic crisis. Gordon, who together with a peasant leader, Paul Bogle, led the struggle for the rights of impoverished blacks, predicted rebellion if more enlightened policies were not adopted.
Gordon’s words proved to be prophetic. In October 1865 the Morant Bay uprising, led by Paul Bogle, occurred, with the loss of dozens of lives. Martial law was declared. Although Gordon was in Kingston at the time of the uprising and was not directly linked to the disturbance, he was arrested, taken to Morant Bay, and court-martialed for conspiracy. Finally, he was hanged.
In 1969 the government of independent Jamaica recognized George William Gordon by naming him a Jamaican National Hero.