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The Cross and the Machete: Native Baptists of Jamaica - Identity, Ministry and Legacy. Devon Dick. Kingston: Ian Randle, 2009. xx + 308 pp. (Paper US$ 26.95)
The series of events that led to the formation of the United States precipitated the removal of enslaved Americans who opted to serve the British rather than the patriots. Known as "black loyalists," these former slaves were dispersed throughout the Empire where they played key roles in Canada, England, Africa, and the West Indies. The Cross and the Machete discusses the influence of these individuals on the emergence of what has become known as Native Baptists in Jamaica. Devon Dick traces the formation of this association (I hesitate to say sect) from its inception in the eighteenth century to its influence on the Morant Bay Rebellion. Along the way readers are introduced to George Liele, Moses Baker, Sam Sharpe, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, and a number of less well-known players in Jamaican history.
As pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church, Devon Dick is well-positioned to undertake such a project. This book, a revised dissertation (University of Warwick), is a sequel to Rebellion to Riot: The Jamaican Church in Nation Building. Both publications in the series focus on Morant Bay. The Cross and the Machete is composed of seven chapters plus a foreword by Rex Nettleford. Dick's interest was tweaked by a reenactment staged with his congregation and by a lecture he delivered before a local historical society. Morant Bay is...