Joseph Chatoyer
| Joseph Chatoyer | |
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| Died | March 14, 1795 |
Joseph Chatoyer, also known as Satuye (died March 14, 1795), was a Garifuna (Carib) chief who led a revolt against the British colonial government of Saint Vincent in 1795. Killed that year, he is now considered a national hero of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and also of Belize, Costa Rica and other Carib countries he fought for during the war. (Camillo Gonsalves, Permanent Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the United Nations, described him in 2011 as his country's "sole national hero".)
For two centuries, the indigenous Carib population of the island succeeded in resisting European attempts at colonization by retreating to the mountainous, densely forested interior of the island. They were joined by runaway African slaves, forming a unique new culture which combined elements of African and Amerindian heritage. By the 1770s, both Britain and France had made inroads on Saint Vincent. In 1772, the native population rebelled. Led by Chatoyer, the First Carib War forced the British to sign a treaty with them; it was the first time Britain had been forced to sign an accord with indigenous people in the Caribbean.
By 1795, it became apparent to the local population that Britain had no intention of keeping to the treaty and they rose in rebellion. This time, however, the Carib were joined by a group of French radicals inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution. In the Second Carib War, Chatoyer divided the island with his brother Duvalle, another chieftain. Duvalle had a Guadeloupean lieutenant by the name of Massoteau. Working his way along the coast, Chatoyer met with his French supporters at Chateaubelair, and together the forces worked their way to Dorsetshire Hill, from where they would launch their attack on Kingstown.
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