In October 2023 during Black History Month, Bath Preservation Trust curated an exhibition hosted at Bath Central Library, all about taking Cane Warriors from page to performance.
Bath Preservation Trust also co-hosted an event with State of Trust and Alex Wheatle exploring the project. You can find out more from Alex Wheatle, MBE, and Deborah Baddoo, MBE, Artistic Director of State of Trust using the buttons at the bottom of the page.
What is the background to this project?
Tacky’s War was a widespread fight for freedom by enslaved African people on the island of Jamaica in 1760. Led by the warrior Tacky, the rebellion was cleverly planned and coordinated, and it inspired many other rebellions and uprisings on the island as enslaved people fought to take back control of their own lives.
Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle is a novel published in 2020. It tells the story of Tacky’s War through the eyes of a fictional character called Moa, a 14-year-old boy held in enslavement. Alex wrote the book with the aim of encouraging young people to understand the history of the rebellion.
Alex contacted State of Trust to see if they would be interested in collaborating to turn the book into a dance and music performance. Cane Warriors is now a research and development project between State of Trust in collaboration with Beckford’s Tower (Bath Preservation Trust) and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The creative team at State of Trust are pulling out certain moments and themes from the novel, and experimenting with them to develop a performance telling the story of the Cane Warriors through dance and music.
“Cane Warriors is one of the most important narratives I have ever written because it focuses on a part of world history that has been ignored and understated. It’s time that Tacky and his fellow Cane Warriors are remembered…”
– Alex Wheatle
What is the connection between Beckford’s Tower and Tacky’s War?
Beckford’s Tower in Bath was built in 1826-7 by William Beckford (1760-1844) and funded by the stolen labour of thousands of enslaved African people.
William Beckford’s father, Alderman Beckford (1709-1770), had used the family’s wealth to rise through British politics, and was twice Lord Mayor of London. He presented himself as a hero of liberty, and made a speech to King George III campaigning for the rights of British citizens. At the same time, people on his sugar plantations in Jamaica were forced into slavery, stripped of their African names and subjected to violent exploitation.
In 1760, enslaved people on Alderman Beckford’s Esher plantation joined the fight for freedom that was Tacky’s Rebellion.
Beckford’s Tower will reopen later in 2024, thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with new museum interpretation, devised in consultation with cross-sections of the community. It will tell the story of the Beckford family’s complicity in the transatlantic slave trade and the Cane Warriors on Beckford plantations who fought against it.
Where can I find more information?
Find out more about Tacky’s War.
Find out more about Beckford’s Tower and State of Trust.
Find out more about the Beckford and Esher Plantation visit the Legacies of British Slavery website.