text: Governor Edward John Eyre declared martial law in the area, ordering in troops to hunt down the rebels. They killed many black individuals, including women and children, with an initial death toll of more than 400. Troops arrested more than 300 persons, including Bogle. Many of these were also innocent but were quickly tried and executed under martial law; both men and women were punished by whipping and long sentences. This was the most severe suppression of unrest in the history of the British West Indies. The governor had George William Gordon, a mixed-race representative of the parish in the House of Assembly, arrested in Kingston and brought back to Morant Bay, where he tried the politician under martial law. Gordon was quickly convicted and executed.
  The violent suppression and numerous executions generated a fierce debate in England, with some protesting about the unconstitutional actions of the governor John Eyre, and others praising him for his response to a crisis. The rebellion and its suppression remain controversial, and it is frequently discussed by specialists in black and colonial studies.
  Background
  Slavery in Jamaica was abolished on 1 August 1834 with the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act. The act also stipulated that all formerly enslaved persons in Jamaica over the age of six would work as apprentices for a period of four to six years for their former enslavers, though British abolitionists protested against the apprenticeship system and it was fully abolished by 1 August 1838.