On Aug. 1, 1838, young Queen Victoria, having ruled England for a year, stood on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with a proclamation. "Because the slaves of Jamaica are impatient for freedom," she read in a thin young voice, "we proclaim them free; and 100 years from this day the plantations of Jamaica shall be divided into small pieces, and each descendant of these freedmen shall be given a small piece." The crowd cheered; the more enthusiastic abolitionists threw their hats in the air.
So, at any rate, believe the plantation Negroes of Jamaica....
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