Maurice Rupert Bishop was a Grenadian politician and revolutionary leader. He seized power in a coup from Eric Gairy, who had been in power since independence in 1974. Maurice Bishop was the Prime Minister of the People’s Revolutionary Government of Grenada until he was overthrown in 1983.
Early Life and Education
Maurice Bishop was born in Aruba on 29th May 1944. His Father was Rupert Bishop, and his Mother was Alimenta Bishop. At age six, he migrated to Grenada with his parents. He enrolled in Wesley Hall Primary School. A year later, he transferred to the St. George’s Roman Catholic Primary School. There, he won a scholarship to the Roman Catholic Presentation College. One of four placements available. At the age of nine, friends teased Maurice because of his height, making him look older. As the only son, his father pushed him on education and expected much from him.
As a little boy, Bishop was keenly interested in the Cuban Revolution. He had admired the courage of Fidel Castro. In his sight, nothing could overshadow this aspect of the Cuban Revolution. In those years, Bishop and his friends became interested in reading Julius Nyerere and Frantz Fanon’s works. In 1962, Bishop graduated and was awarded a gold medal for his outstanding ability. Shortly before graduation, Bishop and Bernard Coard created the Grenada Assembly of Youth fighting for Truth. The purpose of the group was to bring Grenada youth together to debate over issues. In his final years of Secondary School, Bishop took an interest in law. When he left College in 1963, he worked for a short period as a civil servant before moving to London.
Career
In 1963, Bishop moved to London as a student to study law at London University. At the university, he became the chair of the West Indian Students Society. He co-founded a clinic for legal aid. He also joined the campaign against racial discrimination (CARD).
In 1966, Bishop married Angela Redhead, a nurse. He continued to do voluntary work with the Legal Aid Clinic in Notting Hill. In 1969, he qualified as a barrister and returned to Grenada the following year. During this period, Eric Gairy was the most important figure politically. He was the leader of the Grenada United Labor Party and prime minister of the country.
From 1967 to 1969, Maurice Bishop worked on his Texas about constitutional development for Grenada. However, he had to stop it midway because of disagreements with the supervisor in assessing the disturbances in 1951. In 1969, Bishop bagged a law degree and was one of the founding members of the Legal aid office in Notting Hill community.
This was volunteer work. His main source of income from his work as an auditor of taxes on the British civil service. During this time, he communicated via correspondence with his friends, and they developed a 2-year plan of activities to be implemented upon his return to Grenada.
When Maurice Bishop returned to Grenada in December 1970, he offered a legal defense to striking nurses at a General Hospital. The nurses were hoping to improve the living conditions of patients. He was arrested with 30 others. They were all released after a seven-month trial.
In January 1973, Bishop’s group merged with another group to form the New Jewel Movement (NJM). He shared the leadership of the new group with Unison Whiteman.
Bloody Sunday
on 17th November 1973, Bishop and a few other new pressure groups were driving from Saint George’s to Greenville when security forces overtook them. Nine of them were captured, arrested, and beaten by the government.
The incident occurred as they were on their way to meet with the business people of the city. They were imprisoned and shaved their beards, revealing Bishop’s broken jaw. The events of that day became known as “Bloody Sunday” in Grenada.
In 1972, Maurice Bishop was instrumental in organizing a Martinique conference that discussed actions for liberation movements. He brought together a group called the Movement for Assemblies of the People. The group was guided by Julius Nyerere’s philosophy and Tanzanian socialism, which he had studied closely while in London.
A militia group formed was formed by Sir Eric Gairy formed a private army called the Mongoose Gang. Rumor had it that the Mongoose gang would be used to attack revolutionists. On 18th November 1973, a number of revolution members were beaten by the Mongoose gang. Bishop suffered a broken jaw and was hospitalized for weeks.
Socialist and anti-imperialist
Maurice Bishop was an eloquent speaker, standing 6 ft 3 in tall. A charismatic character with a likable personality, he was the perfect leader. He had public speaking skills to hold his audience spellbound with oratory. Humor was a way of derision for which he would hold the audience attentive to his speech. Maurice Bishop was pragmatic in the sense that he believed that the results of an idea were the best criteria to judge its effectiveness.
For instance, in speaking of the revolution, Maurice stated that the old methods that many Caribbean countries adopted were not effective. They did not produce the results they wanted. Many of the Caribbean countries aligned with the right-wing, while Bishop took the left-wing path. In his opinion, the revolution was necessary because the masses did not benefit. Their lives were difficult.
Fidel Castro accused the West of exploiting the poor. He was anti-capitalist. Maurice Bishop was a socialist and was anti-imperialist. He defined imperialism as governments that backed transnational corporations with the use of force. According to Maurice Bishop, some countries have multinational organizations operating in different parts of the world. Those countries would go to any length necessary to back the interests of these corporations. At the same time, Bishop still encouraged foreign aid from capitalist countries.
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Conspiracy on Independence Day
On 6th February 1974, the day before Grenada proclaimed independence, Maurice Bishop was arrested on conspiracy charges and taken to Fort George prison. Police alleged that they had found weapons, ammunition, and equipment while raiding his house. They alleged that he had planned to assassinate Sir Eric Gairy in a night club. However, on the day after independence, he was released on bail. He went to the United States soon after his release.
In 1979, revolutionists led by Maurice Bishop ousted the regime of Sir Eric Gairy. He had ruled Grenada since they gained independence in 1974. The coup was bloodless as Sir Gairy was out of the country at the time. He had gone to address the United Nations. Bishop’s supporters raided his residence on March 13, 1979. They discovered documents pointing to corruption and oppression. They also saw books and materials that showed Sir Gairy’s involvement and interest in voodoo and witchcraft.
Maurice Bishop became Prime Minister of Grenada and suspended the constitution. Grenada was the only English-speaking revolutionary state. It aligned itself with the Cuban Soviet Group. Bishop established a relationship with Cuba after he took power. Cuban leader Fidel Castro provided aid to Grenada. He intervened in construction, housing, and public health. When the United States stopped all forms of financial aid to Grenada, Castro stepped in and filled the gap. Maurice Bishop initiated a number of projects. The most important project was the building of a new International Airport on the Island’s southern tip. Finance and labor for the construction of the airport came from Cuba.
However, most of the airport infrastructure was designed by European and American consultants. He also built affordable houses for the people of Grenada, giving them interest-free loans. Suddenly a large number of citizens were able to afford standard accommodation.
The American at that time, President Ronald Reagan, accused Granada of intending to use the new airport airstrip as a landing point for Soviet military aircraft. He believed that should Fidel Castro request to use the new airport as a base for military operations, Grenada would not be able to refuse such a request.
Furthermore, some of Maurice Bishop’s core principles were workers’ rights, women’s rights and, the struggles against apartheid and racism. Under his leadership, the National Women’s organization was formed. The organization took part in policy decisions with other social groups. Women were paid equitably as men. They were paid maternity leave, and sex discrimination was made illegal.
Refusal to hold Elections
Despite its lofty achievements, Bishop’s government refused to hold elections and stifled the free press and the opposition. The People’s Revolution Army (PRA) was formed during his leadership. Critics claimed that the PRA was majorly a tool in Maurice Bishop’s government’s hand to commit human rights abuses. He was accused of torturing and detaining political dissidents without trial.
He refused to hold elections claiming that he was not comfortable with the American style of democracy. This meant that they needed a new constitution, and elections would follow a different pattern. Moreover, it was believed that elections were capable of being manipulated by the input of large sums of money from foreign interests.
Bishop introduced free public health during his leadership, and illiteracy dropped from 35% to 5%. Unemployment also dropped from 50% to 14%. Nonetheless, his weak point was tourism. He unpacked an old international airport project and asked his friend, Fidel Castro, for help.
Death and End of Revolution Era
When Bernard Coard arrested Bishop, protesters gathered, numbering about a third of the island’s total population. This led to his release.
Nevertheless, in 1983, disputes among the party leadership occurred. Within the party, a militia group tried to force Bishop to step down or cut a deal with Bernard Coard for power-sharing. Bishop rejected the proposals and was later placed under house arrest. Large demonstrations took place demanding his release and restoration. During the demonstrations, Maurice Bishop was assassinated along with three other members of his cabinet.
Praise from Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro repeatedly praised Maurice Bishop as an exceptional revolutionary leader who gained his highest trust. According to him, the Coard group didn’t have such relationships, intimacy, or confidence. Rather the relations were cold and tense between his native Cuba and the new Grenadian Government. There was no coordination between the Grenadian Army and the Cuban workers and collaborators at the time of the invasion. Not in the least.
Fidel Castro denounced the invasion of Grenada by the United States. According to him, it came only after the men who had overthrown and killed Maurice Bishop stopped the revolution and opened doors for imperialists’ aggression.
