Julien Fédon, also called Julien Fedon, Foedonn, Feydn, and Fidon, was the leader of the Fédon Rebellion, a revolt against British rule led primarily by free mixed-race French-speakers that took place in Grenada between March 2, 1795, and June 19, 1796. The Fédon Rebellion broke out in the same year as several other rebellions in the Caribbean, including in Cuba, Jamaica, and Coro, Venezuela. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Fédon was considered a folk hero in Grenada and influenced the nationalist leaders and revolutionaries of the island.
Biography
Julien Fédon was born on the island of Martinique. He was the son of Pierre Fédon, a French jeweler who had migrated to Martinique from Bordeaux, France, in 1749. His mother was a freed black slave. The family moved to Grenada in the 1750s, when the island was under French rule. However, according to a historian, Edward Cox, Fédon seems not to have lived there until 1772 and probably migrated to it later. In Grenada, Fédon married Marie Rose Cavelan, a mulatto, in 1787, and they settled on a plantation in Saint John Parish known as the Belvedere Estate Grenada. Fédon was appointed commanding general of the French republican forces on Guadeloupe. Fédon began his revolt in Grenada on the night of March 2, 1795. The purpose of the revolt was to abolish slavery, grant citizenship to former slaves, and overthrow British colonial rule, returning power to the French people. With the help of around 100 freed slaves and mulattoes, Fédon fought against the island's landlords and white British bourgeoisie. The rebels' attacks were coordinated against the cities of Grenville and Gouyave. They looted and burned houses and dragged British settlers into the streets to be executed. After returning to the mountains of Belvedere, the rebels joined a large group of slaves who had abandoned the plantations where they worked. In the mountains, Fédon built several fortifications to withstand British attacks. During the rebellion, about 14,000 of the 28,000 slaves on Grenada at the time were allied to the revolutionary forces; some 7,000 of them were killed. Many French people who had seen Grenada ceded to the British in 1763 joined as well, along with some French Catholics who had been excluded from civil and political rights because of their religion and wanted to oust the British. On April 8, 1796, a brother of Fédon died in a British attack. To avenge the death of his brother, Fédon ordered the execution of 48 of the 53 prisoners he was holding on the mountain, including Governor Ninian Home. From their base in the mountains, Fédon's rebels were able to control the whole island except for St. George Parish, the seat of government. Their attack on St. George failed, and historians consider this the source of the rebellion's eventual defeat. Also, on many occasions, Fédon allowed the British to regroup and gain strength without launching an attack. The day after the failed attack on St. George, the forces of Fédon were defeated on the steep hills and ridges near Mt. Qua Qua. The few surviving rebels flung themselves down the mountain. Fédon was never captured, and his whereabouts after the revolt are unknown. Some historians believe he tried to flee the island by canoe, which may have sunk.
The mountain that was the rebels' base during the revolt, located on Fédon's Belvedere Estate in the center of Grenada, is the only place on the island that bears his name. The mountain, whose original name was Morne Vauclain, is now called Morne Fédon. However, the surname Fédon has disappeared from Grenada.
