Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Nigel Westmaas presented a paper at a Guyana conference to mark the 250th anniversary of the 1763 Guyana revolution where slaves rose up and controlled the territory of Berbice for more than a year against Dutch colonists. The paper was titled “Comparing Berbice (1763) and the Haitian (1791-1804) Slave Rebellions: Context, Course and Outcomes."

In the long history of slave revolts in the western hemisphere Berbice was the only example of a slave revolt (apart from Haiti's successful revolution) that held out for this time period. The June 29 conference was sponsored by the Guyana Institute of Historical Research.