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Maurice Bishop
Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of the New JEWEL Movement (NJM) – a party that sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education and black liberation. The NJM came to power during the 13 March 1979 revolution which removed Prime Minister Eric Gairy from office. Bishop headed the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada (PRG) from 1979 to 1983. In October 1983, he was deposed as Prime Minister and executed during a coup engineered internally by Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard. This quickly led to the demise of the PRG.
Maurice Rupert Bishop was born on 29 May 1944 on the island of Aruba, then a colony of the Netherlands as part of the Territory of Curaçao. His parents, Rupert and Alimenta Bishop, came from the northeast of Grenada, where Rupert earned only five British pence per day. At the end of 1930, to improve his financial position, Rupert moved with his wife Alimenta to Aruba so that he could work in the oil refinery.
Until the age of six, Maurice was raised in Aruba with two older sisters, Ann and Maureen. In 1950, his father took the family back to Grenada and opened a small retail shop in the capital, St. George's. Maurice was sent to study at the Wesleyan elementary school, but after a year Maurice was transferred to the Roman Catholic St George primary and high school. Maurice was already quite tall at age nine and was teased because his height made him look much older. As an only son, Maurice was pushed hard by his father to excel. Rupert would demand perfect grades from Maurice. When the family purchased a car, his mother expected him to walk to school like the others.
For his secondary education, Bishop received one of the four government scholarships for study at the Roman Catholic Presentation Brothers' College. He was elected president of the Student Council, of the Discussion Club, and of the History Study Group, along with editing the newspaper Student Voice and participating in sports. As he recalled, "Here I had much interest in politics, history and sociology." He established contacts with students from the Anglican Grenada Boys' Secondary School, his own school's competitors. He was an ardent supporter of the West Indies Federation, established in 1958, and the ideas of Caribbean nationalism. He also recalled the great interest that the 1959 Cuban Revolution aroused in him: "it did not matter what we heard on the radio or read in the colonial press. For us, it comes down to the courage and legendary heroism of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara. ...Nothing could overshadow this aspect of the Cuban Revolution."
In those same years, Bishop and his colleagues became interested in reading the works of Julius Nyerere and Frantz Fanon. Shortly before graduation, in early 1962, Bishop and Bernard Coard, a youth leader from Grenada Boys' Secondary School, created the Grenada Assembly of Youth Fighting for Truth. It was intended to raise political awareness among the island's youth through lively discussions over pressing issues. Members gathered on Fridays in St. George's main square and arranged open political debates among the people. Both friends and enemies celebrated Bishop's charisma and oratory skills, including his clever use of humour when making arguments. In 1962, Bishop graduated with a Principal's Gold Medal for "outstanding academic and overall ability".
The activities of the Grenada Assembly ended the following year when Bishop and the other Assembly leaders left for universities in Europe and the U.S. In December 1963, the 19-year-old Bishop arrived in England to study law at the University of London. Coard meanwhile travelled to the U.S. to study economics at Brandeis University. In 1966, Bishop received a Bachelor of Law degree at Gray's Inn in London. He often worked in the city as a postman or vegetable packer. From 1963 to 1966, he was president of the Students Association of Holborn College and in 1967 headed the association of students of the Royal College. While studying Grenadian history, Bishop focused on anti-British speeches and the life of slave revolt leader Julien Fédon, the head of the 1795 uprising. In 1964, Bishop participated in the UK's West Indian Standing Conference (WISC) and Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD). He visited socialist Czechoslovakia and the German Democratic Republic. During this period he studied the works of Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao Zedong. Bishop was particularly impressed by Julius Nyerere's Ujamaa: Essays on Socialism (published by Oxford University Press in 1968) and the Arusha Declaration of 1967.
From 1967 to 1969, Bishop worked on his thesis, "Constitutional Development of Grenada". However, he left it unfinished because of disagreements with his thesis supervisor in assessing the 1951 disturbances and general strike in Grenada. In 1969, he received a law degree and became one of the founders of the Legal Aid Office of the West Indies community in London's Notting Hill Gate. This was volunteer work; his main source of income came from his job in the civil service as a surtax examiner. During his education in England, Bishop corresponded with Grenadian friends and developed a two-year plan of action upon his return home. The plan called for temporary withdrawal from his lawyer duties in order to co-create an organization capable of taking power on the island.
Returning to Grenada in December 1970, Bishop provided legal defence for striking nurses at St. George's General Hospital, who hoped to improve conditions for patients. He was arrested along with 30 other strike supporters. All were acquitted after a seven-month trial. In 1972, Bishop helped organize a conference in Martinique that strategized actions for liberation movements. The philosophy of Julius Nyerere and his Tanzanian socialism were guiding elements for the Movement for Assemblies of the People (MAP), which Bishop helped organize after the elections of 1972. Bishop and co-founders Kenrick Radix and Jacqueline Creft were interested in steering MAP toward construction of popular institutions centered in villages, to facilitate broad participation in the country's affairs.
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Maurice Bishop
Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of the New JEWEL Movement (NJM) – a party that sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education and black liberation. The NJM came to power during the 13 March 1979 revolution which removed Prime Minister Eric Gairy from office. Bishop headed the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada (PRG) from 1979 to 1983. In October 1983, he was deposed as Prime Minister and executed during a coup engineered internally by Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard. This quickly led to the demise of the PRG.
Maurice Rupert Bishop was born on 29 May 1944 on the island of Aruba, then a colony of the Netherlands as part of the Territory of Curaçao. His parents, Rupert and Alimenta Bishop, came from the northeast of Grenada, where Rupert earned only five British pence per day. At the end of 1930, to improve his financial position, Rupert moved with his wife Alimenta to Aruba so that he could work in the oil refinery.
Until the age of six, Maurice was raised in Aruba with two older sisters, Ann and Maureen. In 1950, his father took the family back to Grenada and opened a small retail shop in the capital, St. George's. Maurice was sent to study at the Wesleyan elementary school, but after a year Maurice was transferred to the Roman Catholic St George primary and high school. Maurice was already quite tall at age nine and was teased because his height made him look much older. As an only son, Maurice was pushed hard by his father to excel. Rupert would demand perfect grades from Maurice. When the family purchased a car, his mother expected him to walk to school like the others.
For his secondary education, Bishop received one of the four government scholarships for study at the Roman Catholic Presentation Brothers' College. He was elected president of the Student Council, of the Discussion Club, and of the History Study Group, along with editing the newspaper Student Voice and participating in sports. As he recalled, "Here I had much interest in politics, history and sociology." He established contacts with students from the Anglican Grenada Boys' Secondary School, his own school's competitors. He was an ardent supporter of the West Indies Federation, established in 1958, and the ideas of Caribbean nationalism. He also recalled the great interest that the 1959 Cuban Revolution aroused in him: "it did not matter what we heard on the radio or read in the colonial press. For us, it comes down to the courage and legendary heroism of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara. ...Nothing could overshadow this aspect of the Cuban Revolution."
In those same years, Bishop and his colleagues became interested in reading the works of Julius Nyerere and Frantz Fanon. Shortly before graduation, in early 1962, Bishop and Bernard Coard, a youth leader from Grenada Boys' Secondary School, created the Grenada Assembly of Youth Fighting for Truth. It was intended to raise political awareness among the island's youth through lively discussions over pressing issues. Members gathered on Fridays in St. George's main square and arranged open political debates among the people. Both friends and enemies celebrated Bishop's charisma and oratory skills, including his clever use of humour when making arguments. In 1962, Bishop graduated with a Principal's Gold Medal for "outstanding academic and overall ability".
The activities of the Grenada Assembly ended the following year when Bishop and the other Assembly leaders left for universities in Europe and the U.S. In December 1963, the 19-year-old Bishop arrived in England to study law at the University of London. Coard meanwhile travelled to the U.S. to study economics at Brandeis University. In 1966, Bishop received a Bachelor of Law degree at Gray's Inn in London. He often worked in the city as a postman or vegetable packer. From 1963 to 1966, he was president of the Students Association of Holborn College and in 1967 headed the association of students of the Royal College. While studying Grenadian history, Bishop focused on anti-British speeches and the life of slave revolt leader Julien Fédon, the head of the 1795 uprising. In 1964, Bishop participated in the UK's West Indian Standing Conference (WISC) and Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD). He visited socialist Czechoslovakia and the German Democratic Republic. During this period he studied the works of Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao Zedong. Bishop was particularly impressed by Julius Nyerere's Ujamaa: Essays on Socialism (published by Oxford University Press in 1968) and the Arusha Declaration of 1967.
From 1967 to 1969, Bishop worked on his thesis, "Constitutional Development of Grenada". However, he left it unfinished because of disagreements with his thesis supervisor in assessing the 1951 disturbances and general strike in Grenada. In 1969, he received a law degree and became one of the founders of the Legal Aid Office of the West Indies community in London's Notting Hill Gate. This was volunteer work; his main source of income came from his job in the civil service as a surtax examiner. During his education in England, Bishop corresponded with Grenadian friends and developed a two-year plan of action upon his return home. The plan called for temporary withdrawal from his lawyer duties in order to co-create an organization capable of taking power on the island.
Returning to Grenada in December 1970, Bishop provided legal defence for striking nurses at St. George's General Hospital, who hoped to improve conditions for patients. He was arrested along with 30 other strike supporters. All were acquitted after a seven-month trial. In 1972, Bishop helped organize a conference in Martinique that strategized actions for liberation movements. The philosophy of Julius Nyerere and his Tanzanian socialism were guiding elements for the Movement for Assemblies of the People (MAP), which Bishop helped organize after the elections of 1972. Bishop and co-founders Kenrick Radix and Jacqueline Creft were interested in steering MAP toward construction of popular institutions centered in villages, to facilitate broad participation in the country's affairs.
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