Knibb, William

(1803–45)

   Missionary.

   Knibb arrived in Jamaica as a Baptist minister in 1824 and he remained in the West Indies for the rest of his life. During this period the slaves revolted, emancipation was granted and the economy of the islands underwent radical change. He was a tremendous campaigner, championing the black slaves and he was largely responsible for the decision to declare the Jamaica churches independent of the Baptist Missionary Society. He did much to found the Calabar Training College and he organised a mission to Africa from the West Indies. He is perhaps the best known of the early Baptist missionaries.

   P. Wright, Knibb the Notorious: Slaves’ Missionary (1973).