In March 1795, a violent rebellion erupted in Grenada, marking one of the most significant uprisings against British colonial rule in the Caribbean. At the center of the revolt was Julien Fédon, a free biracial French-speaking planter inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution. The revolt aimed to topple British rule and establish a Black republic, similar to what had occurred in neighboring Haiti.
Julien Fédon was born in Martinique in the mid-18th century to a white French merchant and a formerly enslaved African woman. By the 1750s, the family had relocated to Grenada, which was then under French control. Like many Caribbean islands, Grenada was a brutal slave society built on the labor of thousands of enslaved Africans.
Fédon rose to become a wealthy plantation owner, operating the Belvidere Estate in Grenada’s mountainous interior. In 1774, he married Marie Rose Cavelan, a woman of African, French, and Amerindian descent. They belonged to the island’s elite mixed-race community. Though Fédon would later be appointed commander of French Republican forces in Guadeloupe, he lived under British rule after the island was ceded to Britain in 1763.
The transition from French to British control sparked deep tensions. French Catholics and free mixed-race Grenadians were systematically excluded from political power and civil rights by the Protestant British elite. Fédon’s own family suffered under this racial discrimination, his wife was once wrongfully imprisoned as a runaway slave due to her appearance and lack of documentation.
Across the island, racial injustices and the daily cruelties of slavery festered beneath the surface. The Haitian Revolution, which began in 1791, showed that resistance was possible. Fédon, influenced by the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, began planning a similar uprising to establish a Black republic in Grenada.
By the early 1790s, Fédon was secretly organizing. He signed petitions condemning radicalism to appear loyal while simultaneously distributing revolutionary literature, coordinating with French forces in Guadeloupe, and stockpiling weapons. On March 2, 1795, the rebellion was launched. Fédon’s forces attacked and captured the towns of Grenville and Gouyave, killing many British residents and capturing over 50 hostages, including Governor Ninian Home.
The rebellion gained rapid support. Thousands of enslaved Africans fled plantations to join the uprising, which was also supported by free people of color and even some white French Catholics.
From his fortified base at Belvidere, Fédon quickly seized control of most of the island, except for the capital, St. George’s. Attempts to force a British surrender were rejected, even as the rebels held strategic territory and received support from French revolutionaries in Guadeloupe.
As the months wore on, both sides suffered from hunger, disease, and relentless skirmishes. In April 1796, after the death of his brother in battle, Fédon ordered the execution of 48 hostages, including Governor Home.
Internal divisions, food shortages, and a loss of French support began to weaken the rebellion. The British, meanwhile, received reinforcements from Britain and allied Spanish forces who feared the rebellion would inspire similar uprisings in their own colonies.
In June 1796, a massive British offensive crushed Fédon’s forces and captured Belvidere, ending the rebellion.
Though the rebellion was ultimately suppressed, it came at a huge cost. Grenada was left in ruins, economically, socially, and demographically. Over 7,000 enslaved Africans are estimated to have been killed during the conflict, nearly half of the island’s total enslaved population at the time. Many others were recaptured, re-enslaved, or executed. The British retaliated with brutal force, executing rebels publicly, often without trial, to terrorize the population and discourage future uprisings.
The material losses were equally devastating. An estimated £2.5 million worth of damage was done to plantations, distilleries, and infrastructure. The island’s once-thriving sugar economy collapsed, and French influence, already declining, was permanently stamped out.
Despite the British victory, Julien Fédon was never captured. His fate remains a mystery. Some believe he drowned while fleeing by canoe. Others say he escaped to Cuba or Trinidad. His fate remains one of history’s enduring mysteries.
Roughly four decades later, slavery was abolished in Grenada, part of the wider abolition of slavery across the British Empire in the 1830s. Though Fédon’s rebellion failed militarily, it shook the colonial order and became a powerful symbol of resistance.
Today, Fédon is remembered in Grenada as a revolutionary hero. His former mountain headquarters is now called Morne Fédon, the only place on the island that bears his name.
Sources:
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/2717757?journalCode=jnh
