In the person of Samuel Sharpe, we have the opportunity to observe how a leader of slaves has the ability to deal with first rate personages such as the Governor of Jamaica, Somerset Lowry-Curry. In their one scene together, we see that at the moment of Samuel’s defeat, he is still the intellectual equal of a person of power. When he speaks with his fellow slaves to prepare them for the labour strike over the Christmas period of 1831, he speaks with full understanding of them in order to empower them to claim their freedom.