Julien Fédon

Julien Fédon (died ), 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 2 March 1795 and 19 June 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. 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. 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 mixed-race woman, in 1787,

Fédon began his revolt in Grenada on the night of 2 March 1795. Grenville had been a scene of brutality, a "massacre of the English white inhabitants." 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. these executed hostages included 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 in poor weather. Whilst others say that he escaped to Trinidad or Cuba, and there were claimed sightings of him as late as 1815.

Ideology Fédon was influenced by the French Revolution, the French revolutionary leaders on Guadeloupe, and the Haitian Revolution. Some historians have claimed Fédon intended to grant freedom to the island's slaves, while others claim he merely wanted the island to return to Catholic French control. His followers (notably Jean-Pierre La Valette, Charles Nogues, Stanislaus Besson, Etienne Ventour, and Joachim Phillip) were also influenced by the French Revolution's ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Legacy 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.