John Smith (missionary)

John Smith
Born	(1790-06-27)27 June 1790 Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
Died	6 February 1824(1824-02-06) (aged 33) New Amsterdam, Demerara
Occupation	missionary

John Smith (27 June 1790 – 6 February 1824) was an English missionary and abolitionist whose experiences in the British West Indies attracted the attention of the anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce. As a result of his actions, trial by court-martial and subsequent death whilst under imprisonment, Smith became known as the "Demerara Martyr".^[1] His case, and news of the enormous size of the uprising and the brutal loss of African life, caused a great awakening in England, strengthening the abolitionist cause which eventually succeeded in British territories worldwide in 1838.