1799-Dec.: British authorities in Jamaica executed Isaac Sasportas, a Jewish merchant and revolutionary partisan from Saint-Domingue, for conspiring to rally…

1799-Dec.: British authorities in Jamaica executed Isaac Sasportas, a Jewish merchant and revolutionary partisan from Saint-Domingue, for conspiring to rally black support for an invasion. Sasportas had infiltrated the island under the cover of Spanish contrabandists to test public opinion and contact local maroon leaders. His instructions revealed a sophisticated plan to use unregulated trade routes to facilitate the export of the “magick word Liberty.” The discovery of his mission justified the Jamaican Assembly’s demands for even stricter surveillance of all vessels arriving from the French colony. His death served as a stark warning of the lethal consequences for those who attempted to bridge the gap between Caribbean rebellions.