Slave Revolt Of 1712

From our history classes way back when, most of us are familiar with the slave rebellion lead by Nat Turner. In 1831 he lead of group of slaves in a rebellion which killed 51 whites. It took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831. As with most slave revolts, this one also ended with the defeat of the slaves. Nat Turner was tried on November 5, 1831 for “conspiring to rebel and making insurrection,” and was convicted and sentenced to death. He was hanged on November 11 in Jerusalem, Virginia, and his corpse was drawn and quartered. Blacks suspected of participating in the rebellion were beheaded by the militia, and “their severed heads were mounted on poles at crossroads as a grisly form of intimidation.” A section of Virginia State Route 658 remains labeled as “Blackhead Signpost Road” in reference to these events. That’s right.. to this very day. Not all slave rebellions were unsuccessful, such as the Haitian Revolution, led by Toussaint Louverture. Looking back on their defeat of the French, one might wonder if it was more of a pyrrhic defeat. But freedom at any cost is still freedom, so I put it in the “W” column. Like I said not all slave rebellions were unsuccessful, however the slave revolt of 1712 was not one of them.

Map of section of Route 658 in Virginia, showing location of “Blackhead Signpost Road.”

On the night of April 6, 1712, a group of 20 slaves were through with it. They set fire to a building on Maiden Lane near Broadway in New York City. Then they laid low. As whites came to put the fire out, they attacked them, armed with guns, hatchets, and swords. They killed nine whites and injured another six before they were stopped. They escaped but were soon captured. Colonial forces arrested seventy blacks and jailed them. Six are reported to have committed suicide. Twenty-seven were put on trial, 21 of whom were convicted and sentenced to death. Twenty were burned to death and one was executed on a breaking wheel. This was a form of punishment no longer used on whites at the time. A breaking wheel is similar to a rack, same principal, it breaks all the bones in your body. I am not going to go into the suicides as I’m liable to go too far.

As a result of the rebellion the Commonwealth of Virginia passed stiff slavery laws. As an aside, there is no difference between a Commonwealth and a State, insofar as laws are concerned. It was just a name that some of the colonies took as a way of showing their disdain for the oligarchy which had ruled England since 899 AD. Anyway, slaves were not permitted to gather in groups of more than three, they were not permitted to carry firearms, and gambling was outlawed. Crimes of property damage, rape, and conspiracy to kill qualified for the death penalty. The colony required slave owners who wanted to free their slaves to pay a tax of $260 per person, then an amount much higher than the cost of a slave. Checking the calculator, that comes to around $16,500 in today’s currency. Now here is a little perspective, in 1712 you could sail from England to America for $8.00. A few years later in 1715, Governor Robert Hunter argued in London before the Lords of Trade that manumission and the chance for a slave to inherit part of a master’s wealth was important to maintain in New York. He said that this was a proper reward for a slave who had helped a master earn a lifetime’s fortune, and that it could keep the slave from descending into despair. Manumission is just a fancy word for freeing a slave. These laws would stay in place until 1865, the end of the Civil War.