Tula

Tula, also known as Tula Rigaud, was an African man enslaved on the island of Curaçao, a Dutch colony in the Caribbean. Very little is known about his early life or origins, but he was held on the Knip plantation, on the western side of the island, owned by Caspar Lodewijk van Uytrecht.

On the morning of 17 August 1795, Tula refused to go to work. Along with about 40 to 50 fellow enslaved people, he went to his owner to plead for the freedom they believed they were entitled to. Van Uytrecht, powerless to resist, referred the group to the governor in Willemstad, and under Tula's leadership they left the plantation.

What began as a protest quickly became an uprising. Together with other leaders including Bastian Karpata, Louis Mercier and Pedro Wakao, Tula led a movement that within days grew to nearly 2,000 people and spread across the northwest of the island, making it the largest slave revolt in Curaçao's history. His rebellion is remembered for being built on reason as much as resistance.

The revolt lasted more than a month, but it was eventually suppressed. On 19 September 1795, Tula and Karpata were betrayed and captured, ending the active phase of the uprising. Many other enslaved people were killed during its suppression.

Tula was publicly tortured to death on 3 October 1795, almost seven weeks after the revolt began, in an effort to deter future resistance. It had the opposite effect over time. Today he is revered in Curaçao as a fighter for human rights and independence, a monument to him stands on the island's south coast, the Tula Museum occupies the Knip plantation where the revolt began, and the 2013 film Tula: The Revolt is based on his life.