Duvalle

Duvalle (fl. 1795) was a Garifuna chief who commanded troops on the leeward side of Saint Vincent^[1] after the death of his brother Joseph Chatoyer^[2] in the anti-British rebellion of 1795-1796.

He succeeded Chief Joseph Chatoyer as leader of the Black Caribs/Garifunas of St. Vincent resisting British takeover of the island after Chatoyer was killed on March 14, 1795. While some Caribs fought alongside the British, Duvalle made an alliance with the French.^[3]

His camp was taken by British forces and Duvalle capitulated in October 1796^[2] when the rebellion was crushed and his people deported to Baliceaux.^[1]

Legacy

In Garifuna memory Chiefs Chatoyer and Duvalle, in an effort to maintain their stronghold in St. Vincent as the only non-enslaved group of Black people in the colonial Americas or their time, first fought off the French, then the British, then became allies with the French against the British, only to be betrayed by the French and deported by the British from St. Vincent to Central America.^[4]

References

1. 1 2 Lara, Oruno D. (1998). De L'Oubli à l'Histoire (in French). Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose. pp. 82–83. ISBN 2-86877-138-6. 
2. 1 2 Cayetano, Sebastian (1993). Garifuna History, Language & Culture of Belize, Central America & the Caribbean. The Author. p. 23. Retrieved 13 April 2015. 
3. ↑ Blackburn, Robin (1988). The Overthrow of Colonial Slavery, 1776-1848. Verso. p. 232. Retrieved 13 April 2015. 
4. ↑ Enriquez, Kalilah (2007). Shades of Red: Poems, Short Stories and Selceted [sic] Transcripts of "my Perspective". p. 81. Retrieved 13 April 2015.