1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey everyone, it's Eves again, speaking to you 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:09,879 Speaker 1: from the comfort of my home. Welcome to another episode 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: of This Day and History Class. Today is March. The 5 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: day was March nineteen forty two Guyanese historian and activist 6 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: Walter Rottney was born. He's remembered for his scholarship and 7 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: activism concerning the working class and black people around the world. 8 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: Rottney was born to Edward and Pauline Rottney in Georgetown, 9 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: British Guyana or present day Guyana, British Guyana was a 10 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: colony that was part of the British West Indies. After 11 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: World War Two, there were increasing demands for political independence 12 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: in Guyana. The People's Progressive Party, a left wing political 13 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: party formed in the early night teen fifties in the colony. 14 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: Rottney's perspectives developed in the midst of this rising anti 15 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: colonial sentiment. During that decade, Rottney distributed People's Progressive Party manifestos. 16 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: He began attending Queen's College, a high school in Guyana. 17 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: There he edited the school's newspaper and participated in the 18 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: debate society. He graduated in nineteen sixty and won a 19 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: scholarship to the University College of the West Indies. He 20 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: graduated with a degree in history in nineteen sixty three. 21 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: He went on to attend the University of London, where 22 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: he got a doctorate in African history. His thesis was 23 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: called a History of the Upper Guinea Coast to eighteen 24 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: hundred in England. Rottney continued to recognize how scholarship divorced 25 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: history from politics. Rottney took a job as a lecturer 26 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: in Tanzania, but he left to teach at the University 27 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: of the West Indies in Jamaica. There he taught African history, 28 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: hilding the importance of Africa and Caribbean history and the 29 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: impact of historical resistance against slavery and colonialism. He advocated 30 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: for the working class and criticized the government's policies. He 31 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: gave lectures to marginalized groups in Jamaica and became a 32 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: key figure in the Black power movement. After he went 33 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,519 Speaker 1: to the Black Writers Conference in Montreal in nineteen sixty eight, 34 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:27,639 Speaker 1: Rottney was declared prasanna non grata by the Jamaican government 35 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: and banned from returning to the country. People protested his banning, 36 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,639 Speaker 1: but he continued to speak out on the repression of 37 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: darker Jamaicans. He taught in Tanzania for a few years, 38 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: publishing his best known work, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, But 39 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy four he returned to Guyana, which had 40 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: gained independence in nineteen sixty six, to take a position 41 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: as a professor of history at the University of Guyana. 42 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: Though his appointment to the university was revoked, he stayed 43 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: in Guyana and he came a leader of the Working 44 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: People's Alliance, a political group formed in the nineteen seventies 45 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: in opposition to the regime of Prime Minister Forbes Burnham. 46 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: Rodney gave lectures in Jamaica, Europe and the US, and 47 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: he continued his vocal resistance to Burnham as the government 48 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 1: proceeded to sponsor police raids and beatings. In July of 49 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine, he and seven other people were arrested 50 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 1: after two government offices were burned down. He faced charges 51 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: of arson but was acquitted. Though he and his peers 52 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: faced persecution, he maintained his criticism of the government and 53 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: the constitution, but on June nine, eighty Rottney died in 54 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: a bomb explosion. The bomb was allegedly given to him 55 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: by someone in the Guyana Defense Force. Is suspected that 56 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: the assassination was orchestrated by Burnham. Rottney was survived by 57 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: his wife and three children. Some of his works were 58 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: published posthumously. I'm Eve Jeffcote and hopefully you know a 59 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. And 60 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: if you want to leave us a message on social media, 61 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: you can do so on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter at 62 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: t d i h C Podcast and if you prefer 63 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: to send us an email, you can do so at 64 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: this day at I heeart media dot com. Thanks again 65 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: for listening to the show and we'll see you tomorrow. 66 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart 67 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 68 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: favorite shows.