Im currently in Tasmania where Im taking part in a TV documentary that tells the story of the radicals who were transported to Australia by the British government in the early years of the 19th century. Chartists, Fenians and American adventurers caught trying to start a republican uprising in Canada were sent to Van Diemans Land, as Tasmania was then known. Ive written a few new songs, one of which concerns the exploits of William Cuffay, a Chartist who was the son of a freed slave from St Kitts. Born in Chatham, Cuffay was Chartist leader known for his militancy. When parliament rejected the demands of the 1848 Charter, Cuffay called for insurrection and was arrested. Convicted of levying war on the Queen, he was transported to Hobart aged 60. There he continued to play an important part in local politics, dying in 1870, aged 82. The documentary is based on the book Death or Liberty by Tony Moore and will be shown in Britain later this year.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:01:44 +0000