As Governor of Jamaica , Eyre , fearful of an island wide uprising , brutally suppressed the Morant Bay rebellion of 1865 , which was sparked when Baptist preacher and rebel leader ( and future National Hero of Jamaica ) Paul Bogle encouraged and led a rebellion , and occasioned the death of 18 militia or officials . Up to 439 black peasants were killed in the reprisals , some 600 flogged and about 1000 houses burnt down . General Luke O'Connor was directly responsible for those who inflicted excessive punishment . Eyre also authorised the execution of George William Gordon , a mixed-race colonial member of the Assembly who , though not actually involved in the rebellion , was tried for high treason by Lieutenant Herbert Brand in a court-martial . Gordon was openly critical of the Eyre regime in his capacity as an elected member of the Jamaican Assembly , but Eyre was convinced that Gordon was one of the leaders of the Morant Bay Rebellion . On October 23 , Gordon was hanged two days after his hastily-arranged trial , and Bogle followed him on to the gallows two days later , when he was hanged along with 14 others . The controlling European element of the Jamaican population — those who had most to lose — regarded Eyre as the hero who had saved Jamaica from disaster . Eyre 's influence on the white planters was so strong that he was able to convince the House of Assembly to pass constitutional reforms that brought the old form of government to an end and allowed Jamaica to become a Crown Colony , with an appointed ( rather than an elected ) legislature , on the basis that stronger legislative control would ward off another act of rebellion . This move ended the growing influence of the elected free people of colour Eyre distrusted , such as Gordon , Edward Jordon , and Robert Osborn . Before dissolving itself , the legislature passed legislation to deal with the recent emergency , including an Act that sanctioned martial law and – all-importantly for the litigation in Phillips v Eyre — an Act of Indemnity covering all acts done in good faith to suppress the rebellion after the proclamation of martial law
Morant Bay rebellion
Morant Bay rebellion
Edward John Eyre