The Morant Bay Rebellion occurred on October 11th, 1865. The rebellion was led by Paul Bogle, who brought together Jamaicans who wanted to protest their mistreatment and inequity that ultimately forced them into poverty. In response, Governor Edward Eyre, Jamaica’s governor at the time, responded to the rebellion in heinous acts of violence, killing hundreds of protesters. This resulted in many arrests without proper trials. 

     From the little documentation and research regarding this event, many of the well-known stories and names are linked to men. There were several women who were affected by this event, but not many people knew about their perspectives. To understand their own complex experiences and to shine a spotlight on women’s stories, our class is now beginning to unpack and analyze their documented testimonies from the Jamaican Royal Comission report. 

     When using Voyant tools to distant read rather than close read, I found that I was able to get a good general sense of the overarching context of their testimonies. It was interesting to see how they were boiled down. I found it particularly interesting to see which words were used the most. It gave me real numerical data to work with rather than relying on my own faulty observations. 

     While analyzing the frequency of certain words used within the testimonies through Voyant, I noticed that some words were highlighted in green or red. The words highlighted in red were negative. Words such as death, burn, and steal were all red. Words highlighted in green were words like mercy, strong, and protection. This was useful to me because I was able to create a graph of the most used highlighted words, and compare the usage. I noticed that there were far more red words, which gives me an idea of the collective hardship and struggle these women faced. Without having to read through the whole document, I already know that there is a dark tone throughout it all. The most used “positive” word is not exactly positive within this context, but actually just highlights how many of these were working or had family who worked. 

     Before engaging in this exercise, I was only familiar with the testimonies I had transcribed myself. I knew that there was so much more information and context within the entirety of the Jamaican Royal Commission report. Practicing distant reading allowed me to gain a greater understanding of the robust perspectives of these women. I could see the pattern of language, which may not seem very useful in learning about the nitty-gritty details of their situations, but it did provide insightful data that helped me gain a broader perspective.

Background

     The Jamaica Royal Commission Report includes testimonies from witnesses of the Morant Bay Rebellion. While it highlights the experiences of several witnesses in the 1,100-page report, many do not have access to this information due to its lack of accessibility through digital tools. 

Our digital humanities class took these printed stories and transcribed them into a digital form so we could more easily access and analyze this important historical document. 

My Experience 

     While transcribing my portion of the Jamaican Royal Commission report, I found myself being able to better understand the tone and possible inner thoughts of the witness and questioner. From my personal experience, merely reading dense text is difficult. I find it hard to comprehend and piece together the tone of the situation. Having to actually write out each word from these testimonies provided an immersive experience. I started to tie feelings such as frustration, annoyance, and embarrassment to the dialogue even though these feelings were never explicitly stated. 

     I transcribed the testimonies of Sarah Tyne, Amelia Gibbons, and Maria Blake. While giving each an initial read-through, I was immediately overwhelmed by the format of the text. The way each question was numbered, the way they spoke was unfamiliar, and the tight spacing between each line made it difficult for me to focus on the content and want to keep reading. 

     I noticed that in each question, the women usually gave short answers, leaving out the details of the context of the situation. This may be because they were nervous or they were trying to protect their peers, family, friends, etc. Looking into the questions asked, I could tell that they were beginning to feel frustrated by the short responses given. I don’t think that this is something I would have picked up on if I didn’t transcribe it. I gained a better understanding of the dark underlying tone of each testimony. Although I already went into it expecting a dark tone, I felt much more connected with the witnesses through this process.