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Every year in Barbados, Emancipation Day is celebrated on the 1st of August in recognition of the official date of the abolishment of slavery on the island. The Emancipation Statue pictured below is a public sculpture of a slave rebellion leader in Barbados East of Bridgetown. This statue is located at the center of the J.T.C Ramsay roundabout which is formed at the junction of the ABC Highway and Highway 5.
Many Barbadians refer and honour this statue to the man fondly remembered as Bussa, the name of the slave who heavily contributed and helped to inspire a historical revolt against slavery in Barbados in 1816. The statue was created in 1985 by Barbados most loved and revered Bajan sculpture Karl Broodhagen which depicts a slave breaking free of chains therefore symbolising the “breaking of chains.”
The statue is said to symbolise the strength of Emancipation and is inscribed on both sides with text from the Slavery Abolition Act as well as the chant Barbadians hailed when slavery was offically abolished to signify their freedom and happiness. It is viewed by millions of tourists and inhabitants annually. INSCRIPTION: ” Lick an Lock-up Done Wid, Hurray fuh Jin-Jin. De Queen come from England to set we free Now Lick an Lock-up Done Wid, Hurray fuh Jin-Jin.”
