MP urges heritage tourism built on Chief Takyi legacy

Member of Parliament for Central St Mary Omar Newell is urging greater efforts to honour 18th-century freedom-fighter Chief Takyi, arguing that the revolutionary’s legacy could anchor a globally competitive heritage tourism industry in Jamaica.

Newell, a first-time MP, made the call while addressing a commemorative ceremony marking National Chief Takyi Day on April 8. The event, organised by the St Mary Municipal Corporation, was held Wednesday at Claude Stuart Park in Port Maria.

The commemoration, held under the theme, ‘Advancing the Takyi legacy’, reflected on Chief Takyi’s pivotal role in the 1760 Easter Rebellion, an uprising widely regarded as laying the groundwork for Emancipation 78 years later.

“Today, we honour Chief Takyi. But more than that, we must confront a truth about ourselves,” Newell said. “Chief Takyi represents what I would call an underutilised relevance in Jamaica’s national development. Takyi was not just a rebel; he was a strategist, a leader, and one of the earliest architects of organised resistance in the Caribbean.”

He noted that in 1760, Takyi led an uprising in St Mary that challenged the foundations of the colonial system.

“That is not a small story. That is a global story of resistance, identity, and freedom,” Newell said. “And here is the point we must not miss: across the world, countries are building entire tourist industries around stories like this. There is a global tourism market — worth hundreds of billions of dollars — centred on heritage, identity, and the human journey to freedom.”

Despite Takyi’s historical significance, Newell said Jamaica has failed to fully position the freedom-fighter within that global heritage space.

“So let me say this clearly: Chief Takyi is not only a national hero; he is a national economic opportunity,” he said. “If properly developed, the story of Takyi and Takyi’s war can attract diaspora visitors seeking connection to their roots, create heritage tourism experiences anchored right here in St Mary, generate jobs for guides, and diversify Jamaica’s tourism product beyond sun, sea, and sand.”

Newell said the country could also attract visitors who come not merely to relax, but to learn and engage with history on the ground where freedom was fought. He added that students from around the world could travel to Jamaica to study resistance history not just through books, but in the places where it unfolded.

“Communities in St Mary could benefit directly from that traffic – through culture, cuisine, and enterprise,” he said. “But that will not happen by accident. It requires intentional investment, proper storytelling, and a decision at a national level to recognise that our history is not just to be remembered … but to be leveraged for development.”

Calling for a shift from commemoration to action, Newell said honouring Takyi’s legacy requires sustained national commitment.

“So today, as we honour Chief Takyi, I leave you with this: if we truly respect his legacy, we must do more than commemorate it. We must activate it,” he said. “Because in that legacy lies not only our past … but a pathway to economic growth, cultural strength, and national pride.”

Chief Takyi, also known as Tacky, was an 18th-century Fante king from Ghana who led the major 1760-1761 Akan slave rebellion in Jamaica, known as Takyi’s War. Enslaved on the Frontier plantation in St Mary, he orchestrated an uprising aimed at establishing a free black colony. He is recognised as a national freedom-fighter, with April 8 designated National Chief Takyi Day.

gareth.davis@gleanerjm.com