Burn 2012

In 1844, Sir William Walker, an agent provocateur, was sent by the British Admiralty to Queimada, a Portuguese colony in the Lesser Antilles. His mission was clear: to incite an uprising among enslaved Africans against the Portuguese regime and create leverage for the Antilles Royal Sugar Company to seize control over the island’s economic resources. The British aimed to dismantle the Portuguese government in favor of a puppet regime run by white planters loyal to their interests.

Upon arriving in Queimada, Walker formed an alliance with the charismatic José Dolores, whom he persuaded to lead the rebellion against the Portuguese authorities. Through cunning manipulation, Walker successfully swayed influential landowners to renounce Portuguese control and supported Dolores’s insurrection, which achieved a significant victory. Following this, Walker spearheaded an assassination of the Portuguese governor during a covert coup, thereby establishing a new regime under the auspices of the Antilles Company. This regime was led by Teddy Sanchez, a well-meaning yet ineffective revolutionary.

Although Walker completed his initial mission, he returned to Queimada in 1848 after being summoned by the Admiralty and the Antilles Company once again. This time, the island was ablaze with rebellion, fueled by Dolores’s growing dissatisfaction with the regime’s collusion with the company. After six tumultuous years, Walker was called back in 1854, resolute in his intention to quell the insurrection and restore order. However, he faced staunch resistance from President Sanchez, who was adamant about not backing Walker’s strategies.

As tensions mounted, Walker orchestrated a coup that led to Sanchez’s ousting and subsequent execution. With control firmly in his hands, Walker established a regime that was entirely subservient to the Antilles Company and invited British forces to assist in suppressing the uprising. In a dramatic twist, Walker captured Dolores and sought to save him from execution, only to be met with rejection as Dolores insisted that true freedom could only come through struggle.

Ultimately, Dolores met a tragic end, being hanged by the government. As Walker prepared to leave Queimada once again, he encountered a man who eerily resembled the one who had first welcomed him on the island years prior. In a heart-wrenching conclusion, this figure stabbed Walker to death, leaving him surrounded by the accusing stares of the impoverished citizens in the port, forever haunted by the legacy of his part in their enduring cycle of exploitation and oppression.