BLACK HISTORY

The main plantations on the West Demerara and, the Essequibo coast, that the liberated Africans were assigned to, on their arrival in the colony, were Bagotville,Canal Polder, and Anna Regina. " Timehri Sept, 1917 by J Graham Cruickshank " Among the "Aku" (Yoruba)..." Mother Bednigo - “gone home, done” in August 1916 after a life of many tribulations and great labour. She spent her last days in Canal No.1 West Bank Demerara, Guyana. supporting herself by weaving lamp wicks from raw cotton with a little spindle. Mother Bednigo had been a free girl in Africa when she was kidnapped by the Yoruba and sold to the Spaniards. The Spanish slave ship was intercepted by a British man-o-war and she was rescued and taken to Demerara in January 15, 1851 on a ship called the “Brandon”. She was indentured to Plantation Moor Farm, Wakenaam; there she married and later went to live in Canal No. 1 with her husband. Mother Bednigo’s story, is the story of liberated Africans in general.